The Prodigal Cheerleader
by elphabachan
Summary: Jackie had left Point Place and didn't look back. But when Bob's funeral pulls her back, she runs into her past. And perhaps her future.
1. Prologue

A/N: I, like many Zennies, am disappointed with this final season. I haven't been watching, but I have been keeping up with spoilers. So this fiction contains spoilers through that season. Hope I make you other Zennies proud!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. NOTHING.

Prologue:

Running away from problems usually doesn't solve anything. But for Jackie Burkhart, it seemed to solve everything. After she graduated from high school, she took a year off that was pretty horrible. For one thing, she didn't have the glorious job she wanted. For another, she wasn't getting along with her mother, which wasn't new. And most of all, she was in love with a married man. And it was all her fault.

She and Steven Hyde were very much in love, but their relationship was tumultuous. When it was good, it was really really good, but when it was bad… It was very hard to deal with it. They were kids, and they were both extremely stubborn. Her worst mistake was assuming he didn't want to marry her. Because as it turned out, he did, he just didn't know how to admit it. Again, stubborn. And she had hurt him, even though she didn't go through with what it was that hurt. Long story short, he married a stripper in Vegas. Not his true love, and Jackie was crushed. But instead of talking about it like two adults, they fought like cats and dogs. She had tried so hard to be civil, to try and forgive him and remain his friend, but it didn't work. Sure, she had other friends, but it eventually got too hard to stay in Point Place. The breaking point was a terse exchange between her and Steven at Kitty Foreman's 1979 Christmas party.

Jackie had been hanging out with Donna, Fez, and Eric that night, and Steven and Sam (his quasi wife) were being pretty grabby in a corner of the room. It was especially obnoxious because Sam had LEFT but come back. Her first husband had come to get her, and she left willingly… But then she came back for some unknown reason. And Jackie and Fez had tried going out for a little bit, but it didn't work out. She still had feelings for Hyde. So at the party, Sam and Hyde were having a nice 'reunion' makeout session. Jackie did her best to ignore it, but Kitty's eggnog was hard eggnog, and liquor never helped angry feelings. Jackie wasn't the one who started it. It was Kitty, who in a tipsy state, said something about how she wished Jackie had been living in the house instead of 'that stripper from Vegas'. And that set off resentment that Hyde couldn't take out on Kitty, so he took it out on Jackie instead. He accused her of manipulating people into hating Sam, because she was jealous and spiteful, and immature. In front of everyone. She yelled back saying that she had nothing to do with any of it, and that he shouldn't blame her. And then he said something that cut her to the core.

'You're still just that pathetic cheerleader who expects people to do things for her! When will you just grow up?'

'Steven, how can you say that! You're the one who told Fez to dye my hair GREEN! You never used to be this horrible to me, even when we hated each other when I was with Michael! Why does it change now? Doesn't the fact that we used to love each other change your nastiness!'

'Jackie, it hasn't changed, because I never loved you!'

'…. That's not true.'

'Sorry, doll, but it is true. You were the lay I needed. When you got uppity, I moved on. I. Never. Loved you.' Though the words knocked the wind out of her, she had enough strength to slap him across the face, and left the party, feeling less than merry. Donna had followed.

'Jackie, wait up! Come on, are you going to walk home?' she called, and Jackie kept walking through the snow. Donna caught up (damn her long legs). 'Jackie, let's talk about this.'

'I don't want to talk about it! I am through being humiliated and having my heart ripped up into tiny pieces while everyone sits by idly and acts like nothing happened!' she exclaimed. 'I just want to be left alone! Let me have one Christmas where I can just be left alone!'

'Jackie-.'

'I want all of you to leave me alone!' she exclaimed, trudging and crying. She was sick of being seen as the little naïve princess, when her life was pretty hard too. She was sick of everyone in town knowing about her humiliation. Sick of everyone pitying her because of her Dad's time in prison, and her reckless Mom. She was sick of Point Place. And that night, she made a decision.

She had started that decision process earlier that winter. She applied for a few schools around the country, seeing where she could get in, just for giggles and an ego boost. But now it seemed like the only choice. She was going to college. She never thought she'd go to college, she was always the girl who was going to find a husband and live a life of quiet happiness. But she didn't want that anymore. She wanted to prove all of them wrong. She was not that cheerleader anymore, and if she was, she wouldn't be for long. But just going to Madison wouldn't be enough. She applied to New York University. She loved New York City, and she had the grades and the schmoozing skills to get in. And she had a grandfather who went there, and if they heard that William Burkhart's granddaughter wanted to go, she knew that they would accept her. He was, after all, a huge donor to NYU.

The time she waited to hear from NYU was hard. She had moved out of Fez's apartment and back home with her mother, trying to get away from her friends. If she could even call them friends anymore. She still talked to Donna, and sometimes Eric, but it was weird because it was never in the basement anymore. And resented it. And when Jackie got the acceptance letter, she was so excited that she was going to show all of them that Jackie Burkhart could be more than they ever expected.


	2. Chapter 1: Glamorous Life

Disclaimer: I own none of it.

Chapter 1

1990

Jackie walked into her quaint office in Chelsea. She threw her coat on her drawing boards, and looked at her appointment book. Her studio was small in comparison, but her business was good enough that she could afford to rent that AND her apartment that was a subway ride away in Greenwich Village. She had a meeting with a new client, and they would pay GOOD MONEY for her to decorate their new apartment on the Upper East Side. A lot of people knew that if you wanted a good interior design for a reasonable price, you went to Burkhardt and Grant's in Chelsea, New York City. She had graduated from NYU six years before, and she was already very successful as an interior decorator. And she loved her lifestyle in New York. She barely even thought about her roots in Wisconsin, and had planned to keep it that way.

Until that December day. She looked at her phone, and noticed she had a message on her answering machine. She was about to hit it, when a tall man in a stylish wool coat walked in.

"Hello, loves," he said. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm fine, Barry, how about you?" she asked. He shrugged, and took off his scarf.

"It's that wonderful time of the year when I have to go back to Schenectady and see the folks," he said. "Christmas is but two weeks away. Are you going to your parents?"

"Not if I can help it," she said. "I think I'm just going to watch 'It's A Wonderful Life' on TV, treat myself to some hot chocolate, and then work on designs while listening to Christmas music."

"You could come with me, my parents love you," he said, sitting at his desk.

"It's because they think we're dating."

"No, I told them that we broke up five years ago!" Barry Grant was Jackie's best friend and business partner. They had met at NYU as freshmen, and hit it off quite well at first sight. He had also taken a year off, though instead of sulking around at home he had traveled Europe. He was in Jackie's psychology 101 class, and commented on how much he loved her blue jumper and vintage go-go boots. They were perfect for each other in all ways, except they never dated for one specific reason. He was gay.

"You should really come out to them soon, I'm sick of being your beard," she teased, drinking her coffee.

"We've talked about this, Jackie, I'll come out to them just as soon as YOU get an active social life," he said, and began sorting through his mail. She laughed, and shrugged.

"This may surprise you, but I was little miss popularity back in high school," she said.

"Back in Podunk, Wisconsin?" he asked.

"Hey, I was the head cheerleader at Podunk High," she said. He rolled his eyes, and began looking at some sketches. "But I gave that life up long ago when I decided that parties and popularity aren't all to life."

"This is true," he said. "Sex is a big part of it too." She smiled, and remembered that she had a message on her answering machine. She hit the button, and leaned back in her chair.

"But I will get you out one of these days, to tap into the old Jackie that I never knew but for a semester," he said, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Burkhardt and Grant Interior Designs is closed at the moment, as Jackie and Barry are not at work. Please leave a message after the beep." BEEP.

"Hi, um… I hope I have the right number, this is for Jackie Burkhardt," the somewhat familiar voice said. "This is Kitty Foreman." She almost dropped her coffee mug. Kitty Foreman? "Jackie, your mother gave me this number. I called because I thought that you should know that, well, Bob Pinciotti died this morning. He had a heart attack." Jackie put her hand to her mouth. This was too surreal. "And I thought that you would like to know about that. I'll leave Red's and my number." Jackie copied the number down frantically. "I hope that we hear from you, sweetie." BEEP.

Barry saw the ashen look on Jackie's face as she stared at the machine. He gave her a quizzical look.

"Who is Bob Pinciotti?" he asked, and Jackie looked at him as if from a trance.

"He's… He's the guy I stayed with when my Dad was in jail and my Mom was in Mexico," she said. "He is, well, I guess was, Donna's dad."

"Remind me, who's Donna?"

"You know who she is! You met her once! She was my best friend in high school," Jackie said. "Oh my God. Bob's dead." Barry stood, and walked to his friend. He put his arms around the front of her, and she hugged them. "He did so much for me. He treated me like another daughter while I stayed there."

"Oh loves," he said, squeezing her. "I'm sorry."

"I should call Kitty," she said, grabbing the phone.

"Who is this Kitty?" he asked.

"Oh, she is the Mom of my friend Eric," Jackie said. "You know, the one who went to Africa."

"Oh." She dialed the number that Kitty left, and waited for her to answer. Her heart was beating frantically, she had left this place behind and now it was attacking her at all sides. Barry went back to his board, but watched his friend as she waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Foreman?"

"Yes?"

"… It's Jackie Burkhart."

"…. Oh my GOD, JACKIE!" the woman exclaimed, sounding happy and extremely surprised. "Jackie, you got my message!"

"Yeah, I did, just now," Jackie said. "Bob's dead?"

"Yes, honey, he is," Kitty said. The familiarity in using the word 'honey' was both comforting and unsettling. "He had a heart attack yesterday morning."

"Gosh. Is Donna taking it okay?" Jackie asked.

"She and Eric came in from Madison last night," Kitty said. "She seems to be handling it, but at the same time she's obviously heartbroken."

"I can imagine."

"I just called because I thought you should know," Kitty said. "I know that he cared about you like his own daughter." Jackie closed her eyes, and felt a headache coming on.

"Thank you, I appreciate you saying that," Jackie said.

"I also wanted to tell you that the funeral is on Friday," Kitty said. "Oh, it's such a tragedy, he died during the holiday season!" And with that, Kitty dissolved into her trademark sobs. Jackie had no idea what to do. She had never been very good at comforting people, and Kitty needed comfort at the moment.

"Kitty…" Jackie said, and then blurted out what she never thought she would say. "Kitty, I'll come in on the next flight I can."

"You will?" Kitty asked, and Jackie heard her choke a little on her sobs. "Oh, Donna will be so happy to hear that!" Barry was looking at Jackie, eyes wide and mouth dropped. She shrugged at him, and went back to the phone call.

"Yes, I will. I will see you tonight, Kitty," Jackie said. "Are you still at-?"

"Oh, Red and I haven't moved," Kitty said. "I mean, we did, but the Florida heat got to him, and for some reason no one wanted our house… Yes, I'm sure you remember how to get here." I certainly hope so, Jackie thought.

"Okay, I will be in tonight, Kitty, but I have to go and pack and all that," Jackie said. "Goodbye, Kitty."

"Goodbye!" Jackie hung up, and then felt sick. Barry stood, and crossed his arms.

"Okay, loves, tell me that you did NOT just tell a hysterical old woman that you were going to be on the next flight to Wisconsin for a funeral," he said, and she stood and grabbed her coat. "Jackie, we have stuff we need to take care of."

"You're right, I have to cancel my appointments through Saturday," Jackie said. "But they won't mind, I'm going to a funeral for God's sake…"

"No, Jackie, that isn't what I meant," Barry said, grabbing her arm. "Are you sure that you want to go back to this town you said you hated so much?" She nodded, and Barry huffed. "Why?"

"Barry," she said, "Bob took care of me when I needed help, and Kitty sounded like she really wanted me to be there."

"Jackie, when was the last time you were in Point Place?" he asked, as she began going through her date book. She ignored him, and he growled. "Have you even been back?" She thought for a second. As a matter of fact, she hadn't. She had barely kept in touch with any of that part of her life. After her father was released, he and her mother reconciled and moved to Chicago, she didn't have a need to go back. She didn't even go to Donna's and Eric's wedding, but instead sent a present in the mail. Donna and she had kept in touch for awhile, but the letters became fewer and fewer, and the phone calls became less frequent. She knew that they had moved to Madison, and that Erik was a teacher at a local high school while Donna was a bookstore owner. The last she heard, Donna was pregnant, and that was two years prior. So she assumed that Donna and Eric were now parents, and that she'd meet the kid. And everyone else just disappeared into history.

"I haven't," she admitted. "But that is why I need to go back now. Because I skipped out on them, and wrote them out of my life. So I have to go back and make peace with that." She began writing down the client names, and Barry sighed.

"Okay," he said.

"And you're going to come with me," she continued.

"What!"

"Barry, I really need some support when I go back, and I would really appreciate it if you would be the one to do that," she said.

"Why should I? I have client appointments too, you know."

"Because I've been your beard all these years and I think that this is more than fair, since this is only once and I've done it for you for the past nine years," she said. He knew that she had him, and groaned. He began going through his date book.

"Thank you, Barry," she said, and he held up a hand.

"Oh you just figure out who needs to get their appointments moved!" he snapped, though she knew he wasn't really that mad at her. He never was.


	3. Chapter 2: Calm Oneself

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

She tapped her hands on the arm rests, and Barry took her hand and squeezed it.

"Loves, you look so nervous," he said. She shrugged. "Look, you're going to be great. This is nothing. It's a quick funeral, and then you can come back to New York and go back to your life of seclusion and workaholism."

"Um, thanks, but Barry, going back and seeing people I used to know, and those that I left…"

"This is about that ex of yours," Barry said, eating some peanuts. She looked at him, and groaned.

"This is NOT about Steven Hyde," she said. But he could tell that she was lying. As a matter of fact, she had wondered about Steven, and how that was going to go. They hadn't parted on the most amicable terms, and a small part of her still cared about him, even if she hadn't seen him for ten years. Though she was nervous about seeing everyone, it was him that had her stomach in knots. Especially since she was afraid of what she'd see. And how he and Sam were doing, seeing if they ever got married for real.

"Oh Jackie, just calm down," he said. "Have a peanut."

"No thanks."

"Then have a little bottle of vodka."

"No!"

"Then just chill out because you're making me nervous!" he said, and she huffed and put her head in a pillow.

"I can't believe that Bob is dead," she said. "I always thought that Red would be the first to go, and then it's Bob!"

"Well, it's always the one you least expect," Barry said, trying to get that last peanut from the bottom of the bag.

"How sensitive," she said, pulling the pillow from her face. "Barry, I can't go back to Point Place."

"Honey, we're already flying over Illinois, you kind of have no choice now."

"No, I do, I can just get a ticket right back to New York City."

"Why don't we just withdraw a couple hundred dollars and set it on fire?" Barry asked. "It would be a quicker way to waste money and a lot more entertaining."

"Barryyyyy."

"Jackiiiiiie." She shook her head, and Barry put an arm around her. "Look, you're only staying until Saturday afternoon, and then we can go back. It's really not that bad. It's Wednesday now. Two whole days, but that's not much." She nodded, and he kissed the top of her head.

"And my loves, they are more likely going to be happy to see you than unhappy to see you," he continued.

"I was a very different person then than I am now," she said. He nodded, and pet her hair. "No, I really was. I was living in a fantasy world, and I was really…. Spoiled."

"You're still spoiled, honey, you only shop on Fifth Avenue and are cushioned by granddaddy's inheritance," he said, and she swatted his shoulder.

"You make it sound like I don't work," she said.

"You work, just not for a living," he teased, and she hit him again.

"Well, I used to have that mentality when these people knew me," she said. "Remember freshman year of NYU?"

"Yes."

"I was like that but worse."

"You weren't that bad."

"I was."

"Jacqueline, I went to an East Coast private school," he reminded her. "Really. You weren't THAT bad." She laughed, and crossed her arms.

"But THEY don't know that."

"Well, they're about to meet me," he said. "And I'm a bitch."

"You are not a bitch."

"Neither are you, but if they thought you were a bitch, they haven't met this bitter man," he said. "And they will be thrown for a loop."

"Kitty and Red are going to think we're dating."

"Psh, even if I was straight I wouldn't date you."

"Hey!"

"You're too crazy." She growled, but he was making her feel better.

The plane landed in Milwaukee, and Barry rented a car while Jackie stood in the cold, waiting for him to pick her up. She shivered, it was cold in New York but Wisconsin cold was something else entirely. And she probably didn't pack enough warm clothes.

Barry pulled up, and she loaded her bags and got in. The heat was blasting, and he looked pretty pissed off.

"What's wrong?"

"How did you talk me into this?" he asked.

"What?"

"It's freezing here!" he snapped, and she rolled her eyes.

"You baby."

"You owe me big for this," he said, and began driving. "For one thing, you're navigating."

"That's not that hard," she said.

It began snowing about twenty miles out of Green Bay, and Barry was about to blow a gasket. He was an angry driver, and Jackie knew this because they both drove out to clients houses on Long Island or in the Hamptons. But his reluctance to be there was making him angrier.

"Would you please calm down, you're starting to scare me," she said, putting the map on her lap.

"Well I don't usually have to drive in heavy snow," he said. "I hate the Midwest and I've barely been here."

"You love Chicago."

"But Chicago is different, Chicago is a big city! And I don't go in the winter," he said.

"It snows just as bad in New York, so calm yourself," she said. "Do you want me to drive?"

"No, I can drive," he said. He decided to calm down because she was jumpy enough as it was. She was tapping her foot once they got into Green Bay, and began visibly quaking as they saw signs for Point Place. Once they crossed the city limits she was practically hyperventilating.

"Hey, calm down," he said, kind but firm. "This is going to be fine. They are going to be happy that you showed up."

"I didn't even come for Donna and Eric's wedding, but I come for Bob's Funeral," she said. "What the hell does that say about me?"

"It says that you are doing the right thing now, okay?" he asked, and they drove into the main drag. She looked around. It had more chain stores in it, but besides that it had hardly changed. She saw The Hub, the movie theater, the salon that Fez used to work at. She wondered if Fez still lived here, or if he had moved on as well.

"So this is where the chic interior decorator comes from," Barry said, and she was pulled from her thoughts. "Quaint."

"Oh hush," she said. "Take a left at the next light."

"You remember, huh?"

"… How could I forget?"

Barry was not very impressed by this town, but he was an East Coaster, and knew he was an elitist. He wondered how much Jackie stuck out here. She was very fit for New York, and he couldn't imagine how it must have felt to be so different, surrounded by such different people than her. She was staring at the houses in the neighborhood, her hands pressed against the glass of the car window. She shook her head, and continued to give him monotone directions as he drove through the neighborhoods.

"Here it is," she said. "I… I don't know if we should park in front of the Foreman's or the Pinciotti's." Barry sighed, and took her hand.

"Well, there aren't any cars here," he said. "I think that we should go to Kittys. Is hers the house with the lights on?" She nodded, and she could see silhouettes through the light in the curtains. Just count to ten slowly, she thought. _One, two_…

"So let's go there," he said, and she nodded. _Three, four_…

They walked up the steps to the door, which had a Christmas Wreath on it. She couldn't knock, so Barry did. _Five, six_… They waited a little while, but heard footsteps inside coming to the door. Which glimpse of her past was it going to be? _Seven, eight_…

The door opened. _Nine_… It was Kitty Foreman, looking older but just as perky as when Jackie had last seen her.

"Jackie," she said.

_Ten_.


	4. Chapter 3: Reunion

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Hi, Kitty," Jackie said, her voice shaking. Kitty smiled, and pulled her into a hug. Jackie hugged back, and closed her eyes. This is surreal, this is so weird.

"Well come on in!" Kitty said, almost a forced happiness. The Foremans and Bob had both learned the hard way that the housing market can be truly horrendous, and both familes had given up on selling their homes in Point Place. They decided to spend a quiet solitude in the little Wisconsin hamlet

Kitty was trying to be welcoming, but it was obviously hard because of the reason they were there. It's funny how death brings people together, Jackie thought, as Kitty led her into the living room, Barry close behind.

"Oh Jackie, you look simply stunning!" Kitty said, and Jackie smiled. "Turn around, come on, let me look at you!" Jackie did as she was told, and Kitty put her hands to her face. "You look barely a day older since you left."

"Thank you, Kitty, neither do you," Jackie said.

"Oh, you were always such a flatterer," Kitty said. "And is this your husband?" Barry laughed, and Jackie shook her head.

"No, this is Barry Grant, he's my business partner," Jackie said. "He's here because, well… I didn't know how easy of a time I would have here, since it's been so long, and…"

"And you needed a shoulder to lean on, I understand," Kitty said. "Nice to meet you, Barry!"

"You too, Mrs. Foreman."

"Please, call me Kitty," she said, and they shook hands. "Well, I will go get everyone, and tell them you are here." She rushed out of the living room, and Jackie sat on the couch. It was all so familiar, and yet distant.

"I used to spend so much time in this house," she mused. Barry sat down, and put an arm around her shoulders. "This is so weird."

"I know, loves," he said. "But Kitty is really nice."

"She always was."

The kitchen door opened, and she leapt up to her feet. Donna was there. Her hair was red again, she was wearing jeans and a sweater, and she had aged well. Her eyes were red, she had obviously been crying. Jackie saw her, and her throat had a lump that felt like the size of a grapefruit. Donna smiled, laughed a little, and the two women ran to each other and hugged. Eric was close behind, carrying a two year old boy in his arms, who had dark brown hair like his dad. Donna cried as Jackie hugged her, and Jackie began crying too. It had been so long, and Donna, along with Barry, was the best friend she ever had. Donna pulled away, and looked at Jackie.

"God, look at you," she said, and laughed a little. "You didn't change at all!"

"Speak for yourself," Jackie said, laughing a little bit and wiping the tears from her eyes. Eric walked over, and Jackie looked at their son. "Oh my God, what's his name?"

"Tommy," Donna said, and Jackie could have died. He was so cute! Jackie fell in love with him, and waved a little. Tommy was shy, and hid his face in his Dad's shoulder.

"Donna, I'm so sorry," Jackie said, taking her hand. Donna nodded.

"Thank you," Donna said. "I'm so glad you came."

"Really?" Jackie asked.

"Of course, you big dummy," Donna said, taking Tommy from Eric. Eric smiled at Jackie, and she put her hands to her face. He wasn't as thin as he used to be, and his hair wasn't mop topped anymore. She smiled, and he grinned in response.

"Hey, Satan," he said, and she hugged him.

"Hey, nerd," she retorted. "Oh my gosh, Foreman, you've really grown up."

"Yeah, so have you," he said. She remembered that Barry was there, and she gasped.

"Oh jeeze, you guys, I have someone for you to meet," she said. Barry stepped forward. "This is Barry Grant, he's my business partner."

"We've met, are you an interior decorator too?" Donna asked, shaking his hand.

"Yes, yes I am," he said, and shook Eric's hand as well. "Eric, Jackie and I have known each other since we were freshmen at NYU."

"Are you two…?" Eric asked, and Jackie shook her head.

"No, we're just friends," she said.

"I'm gay," Barry said. Donna just nodded, and smiled at him, and Eric seemed thrown by the openness, but was fine with it as well.

"Jackie, we all have so much to catch up on," Donna said, and they sat in the family room. Which they did.

After Jackie had left, Donna and Eric had gone to Madison for college. Eric was now a science teacher at the high school. Donna's bookstore, Jane's Attic, was the hip place for the college kids to hang out at. Tommy was born on May 11th, 1988, and they were trying for another child at the time. Jackie just stared at Tommy. He was heaven. Barry told them of his past, his travels to Europe, and how he and Jackie hit it off so quickly. When it was Jackie's turn, she didn't know what to say.

"I'm an interior designer in New York City," she said. "And that's about it. My Mom and Dad live in Chicago now, it's a fairly empty marriage that is based on money and companionship. I have no time for my friends, I haven't had a serious relationship since college, and I missed having you guys in my life."

"What a downer," Eric said, and Donna nudged him.

"We've missed you too, Jackie," Donna said. She paused. "All of us have missed you." Jackie and Barry exchanged glances.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Well… After you left, it was like the gang was just… gone," Donna said. "It was me, Fez, Hyde, and Sam. It just… it was like the final straw on the camels back."

"But then I came back and everything was fixed," Eric said, and Jackie laughed a little bit. Donna laughed, and he put Tommy on the floor to toddle around.

"So… Have you heard from any of them?" Jackie asked. "I mean, the rest of the old gang?"

"Well, Alfalfa and Spanky are now business men in Los Angeles," Eric said, and Donna groaned and nudged him again.

"Fez owns the salon now," she said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, and he's living here still, obviously," Donna said. "I've kept in touch with Kelso, he's a detective now."

"Jeeze."

"Apparently he's good. He and Brooke got married and had two more kids," Donna said. "He should be showing up tonight as well."

"And my sister is in Milwaukee," Eric said. "She's a secretary for a high powered attorney."

"You're joking."

"Well, she is sleeping with him."

"Ah, that makes sense," Jackie said. And she didn't dare ask the question that she wanted to. But Donna could tell that she wanted to know.

"And Hyde still owns the record store," Donna said. "Which is now a tape store."

"Ah," Jackie said, nodding.

"He's been thinking of expanding the company, so he'll be going to some big city in the next couple of years as well," Eric said. Jackie nodded, and couldn't ask about Sam. She just couldn't.

"Is he, um, coming over tonight?" Jackie asked. Donna and Eric nodded. "Okay. Um, can you guys recommend any hotels that Barry and I could stay in?"

"Oh, well, you can stay at Dad's," Donna said. "I mean, Eric, Tommy, and I are taking Dad's room, but my old room is open. If you two don't mind sharing a bed."

"I'm not sharing a bed with a woman," Barry said, and Jackie hit his arm. "Ow!"

"There's a futon, too, I suppose," Donna said.

"You are so taking that," Barry stated.

"Oh AM I?" Jackie asked.

"So you don't have to have a hotel," Donna said. "And that way Kelso can stay here and drive Red crazy."

"He was always good at that," Jackie said. "Okay, that seems like a good way to handle things. Barry, shall we take our bags to our room?"

"Ugh, sure," he said. "But I don't want to carry yours too this time."

--------------------

Jackie pulled out the futon, and threw his bags on it.

"Oh no, I'm not sleeping on the futon," he said.

"I had to sleep on it for months, you can sleep on it for three nights," she said. "God, you're so whiney. Be a man." He laughed at her, and she laughed too.

"See, that wasn't so bad," he said. "Your friends were just happy to see you." She nodded, and brushed her hair in Donna's old mirror. Bob had not really changed it since she moved out. He took down her posters, but the bed and dresser were there for a guest room set up. She put on some eyeliner, and Barry grabbed a book off one of Donna's shelves.

"Gertrude Stein, that's impressive," he said. "This Donna seems like she would have made a good beard for a lucky gay man."

"Yeah, she's cool," Jackie said.

"So your ex isn't here."

"Yet."

"And they didn't mention his potential wife."

"So?"

"So maybe that's a good sign."

"Doubtful," she said. "They are hiding it from me to keep me from hurting because they think I'm still in love with him."

"Well aren't you?"

"No!"

"You're defensive," he said, flipping through the book.

"I am not!"

"Oh you are," he said. He was right. She didn't love him anymore, to her knowledge, but she was still very nervous to see him. The last thing she ever said to him wasn't even a sentence. It was a slap to the face, and then a note that said 'goodbye' attached to the old Led Zeppelin shirt, which speaks many words. She turned away from the mirror, and sat on the bed.

"Do you think he'll come here or go to The Foremans? He did used to live there."

"He'll probably come here to see Donna," Barry said. She groaned, and brushed her hair more. Oh, what do I care? She thought, but tied it back anyway.

Donna knocked on the door and walked in.

"Just like old times," Donna said, and Jackie smiled.

"Donna, I just want to thank you for letting us stay here," Jackie said. "And, your son is just… beautiful."

"Isn't he?" Donna asked, and had a sad smile on her face. "I just wish that he would have gotten to know his Grandpa Bob more…" Jackie smiled sympathetically, and touched Donna's arm.

"I know," Jackie said. "But I'm sure that the time will have affected him." Donna nodded, and they sat on the bed.

"Jackie, you've barely changed in your looks, but you're just so much more mature. You've really changed in your attitude," Donna said. "I don't know if it was college, or New York, or…"

"I don't know either," she said.

"It was me," Barry said, not looking up from his book.

"Oh puhLEASE," Jackie said.

"Well, THAT hasn't changed," Donna said.

"Where's Eric?" Jackie asked.

"Oh, he's gone to the store to get some food," Donna said. "I'm trying to get Tommy to bed, but Kelso is going to be here soon. Do you think you could wait for him?"

"Oh sure," Jackie said. Barry sat up, carrying the Gertrude Stein book with him. They walked down the stairs, and Jackie sat on the couch in the main room. She wished that she could have told Bob what he meant to her. She looked at the pictures around the room, and walked around. There were a few of Donna, and of Eric and Donna on their wedding day, and of Tommy when he was a new born. She smiled, and then saw one that was on the back of the mantle, but there nonetheless. It was one of her and Donna in high school. She took it, and smiled.

"What are you looking at?" Barry asked. She silently handed him the photo. "Oh, that's a nice picture!" She nodded, and he put an arm around her.

"He really cared about me," she said.

"How couldn't he?" Barry asked. He heard the tea pot going. "Oh, I was making us tea. I'll get it." She nodded, and he went into the kitchen. She put the photo back, and was about to sit back on the couch, when the doorbell rang. Michael, she thought, and walked to the door. She opened it, and had a big smile on her face. As much as he used her over the years, Michael Kelso could always make her laugh, and she was excited to hear about his life in Chicago as a detective.

"Surprise, Michael!" she exclaimed, but it wasn't him.

It was Steven Hyde. And they were both speechless.


	5. Chapter 4: Flooded Emotions

Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing. Nothing I own.

"Steven," she finally said. He was older. He still had his rocker look, but he had aged. His clothes were clean. He was well kempt. And he didn't have his aviator glasses anymore. He was all grown up now. He looked shocked to see her, probably as shocked as she looked to see him.

"Hi, Jackie," he said. She opened the door wider, and motioned for him to enter the house. "Wow. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Oh. Well, I got Kitty's message this morning and was on the first plane I could get," she said, closing the door behind them. He nodded, and sat on the couch. She didn't dare. She instead stood behind one of the chairs, and put her hands on it. She couldn't look at him.

"You're in New York, right?" he asked. She nodded. "What do you do out there?"

"Oh. Well, I'm an interior decorator," she said.

"Hm. I should have known," he said. She nodded, and at that moment Barry walked into the room with a tray of two tea cups.

"Alright, loves," he said. "Earl Grey, your favorite." He saw the man on the couch, and Jackie's face, and instantly knew who it was. He kind of averted his big brown eyes, and set the tea on the table.

"Thanks, Barry," Jackie said. "Steven, this is Barry, he's my partner." Hyde stood, and shook Barry's hand.

"Hi, I'm Steven Hyde," he said.

"Barry Grant," Barry replied. "I'm Jackie's friend."

"Ah. I'm an old friend," Hyde replied. Jackie took her tea, and sat in the chair. Barry sat on the couch, and Hyde tried to figure out who he was in Jackie's life. Barry nodded, and sipped the tea from the cup. Jackie kind of gave him a look, and Barry couldn't tell if it was 'please stay' or 'please go'. So he stayed.

"So…" Jackie said, and Hyde crossed his arms. "You look good."

"So do you."

"Thanks." Barry sipped his tea, and crossed his legs. Hyde looked over at him, and then at Jackie.

"So how is New York City?"

"It's good. How is Point Place?"

"Also good." Barry rolled his eyes, and set his tea down.

"Okay, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm going to go help Donna put that child to bed," Barry said. "And, I don't really like children." And with that he walked up the stairs, leaving the former lovers alone in the living room once more.

"So that was your business partner," Hyde said.

"Yep."

"…. More than business?"

"What? Oh, no," Jackie said, shaking her head. "We're best friends, I'm his beard, you know how it goes."

"Ohhhh. Okay," he said.

"So how is your business?" she asked.

"It's good." Could this get any worse? she wondered. It probably could, but she didn't want to think about that. "How is yours?"

"Good. Barry and I work really well together," she said. "Gay men are great business partners." Hyde chuckled, and she did too.

"And how is the old lady?" she asked, though she didn't want to know. He sighed, and shrugged.

"I don't know. I haven't known since 1981," he said. She cocked her head. "Our engagement fell through, and she split back for Vegas that spring." Her heart clenched, she was excited and terrified, but her face remained neutral.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay," he said. "It wasn't going to last, everyone knew it." She nodded, and was ecstatic when Donna finally came downstairs. Hyde hugged her, and said the general I'm sorrys and I'll be okays. Barry put an arm around Jackie's shoulder, and raised his eyebrows at her. She smiled at him quickly, and he pointed at Hyde and mouthed 'stripper?' Jackie moved her hand across her neck. 'He killed her?' he mouthed. She shook her head, and made driving motions with her hands.

"He ran her over!" Barry exclaimed, and everyone looked at him. Jackie groaned, and mouthed 'I'll tell you later'.

"Kelso should be here soon," Donna said. "Until then, I can make tea."

"There's hot water in the kitchen," Jackie said. "I'll come with you." They left the men in the living room, and walked into the kitchen. Jackie waited for the door to close and then covered her mouth and gasped. Donna spun around, and Jackie was leaning against the door.

"What's wrong?" Donna asked.

"You didn't tell me she left!" Jackie hissed, swatting Donna's shoulder.

"Ow!" Donna said. "Well, he told me not to tell you!"

"What? Why would he do that?"

"Because then you would have been right, and he hates it when he's wrong," Donna said, pouring tea for Hyde. "And really, Jackie, at the time, you have to admit you would have rubbed it in his face." Jackie thought for a little bit. Yeah, she matured quickly in college, but in 1981 she still would have been hurting just enough to be spiteful. So she nodded, and Donna smiled at her.

"Besides, you had moved on with your life," Donna said. "So, I think he wanted you to move on and have a good life in New York City." Jackie nodded, and exhaled a little bit, chuckling all the while.

"I KNEW it wouldn't last," she hissed, and Donna rolled her eyes.

"There's the Jackie we all know and love," she said, carrying the tea out of the kitchen. Jackie followed, and put a neutral face back on.

"So what is the plan with the funeral?" Hyde asked. Donna sat, and handed him the cup.

"Well, the visitation is tomorrow," she said. "That will be tomorrow night. And the actual funeral is on Friday, in the late morning. As I was telling Jackie and Barry, Kelso is coming in tonight, any minute now. Fez has to close up, but then he's stopping by. So, I guess that the whole gang is back."

"We'll have to go to the Hub and celebrate," Jackie said.

"It's still a teen hang out place," Hyde said. "You may not want to."

"Oh," she said. Barry sipped his tea, and the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Hyde and Jackie both said, and then neither of them got up.

"Go ahead," Hyde said.

"No, you can," Jackie replied.

"No really, you can," Hyde said, and Barry rolled his eyes.

"UGH. I'll get it," he said, and stood from the couch. Jackie rolled her eyes about her crabby best friend, and Hyde and Donna exchanged glances.

"He's just cranky because he has to take the futon," Jackie said.

"I heard that," Barry stated, and opened the door. A handsome man with a mustache was standing there. "Hello."

"Eric, you've really changed," the man said, and Donna stood up.

"Kelso!" she called. "That's not Eric." Kelso looked Barry over, and then let himself in the house.

"Donna!" he said, and gave her a long hug. "I'm so sorry about your Dad, you know. He was, like, a really good guy."

"Thank you," Donna said. Kelso looked at everyone in the living room, and saw Jackie.

"DAMN Jackie, you're still hot!" he said, and she burst out laughing. He grabbed her and picked her up. "And you're still tiny."

"Hello, Michael," she said, and he set her down. "You look like an adult now. The mustache is very, um, flattering." He laughed, and Barry closed the door and made his way back to the main room.

"Michael, this is Barry, he's my business partner," she said. Barry and Kelso shook hands.

"Now don't get any ideas, man, I'm straight," Kelso said. Jackie and Barry exchanged glances.

"How did you know he was-?" she began.

"Trust me, Jackie, I know these things," Kelso said. "Ooh, there's tea?" Donna sighed, nodded, and led him to the kitchen.

"You dated HIM?" Barry asked.

"What, you don't approve?" Jackie asked.

"He has a porn star mustache."

"He didn't always have that," she said. Hyde cleared his throat, and stood up. She looked at him, and he shuffled his feet a little bit.

"I just stopped by briefly, I have to go take care of things about work. So I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the visitation," he said. She nodded.

"You should tell Donna you're leaving," she said. He nodded, and walked into the kitchen. Barry nudged Jackie's ribs.

"Now THAT I can understand dating," he said.

"Down boy, you're barking up the wrong tree," she said.

"Ooh, two dog alliterations, very impressive," he said. "Look, it's been a long day, I think I'm going to go upstairs and hit the hay."

"Going to bed?"

"No, the futon is filled with straw and I'm gonna beat it until it's comfy," he said, and she giggled. He walked for the steps, and she slapped his ass as he did. "Ooh, how naughty." She laughed, and was about to join the people in the kitchen, when Hyde walked back out into the living room. She stopped in her tracks, and clasped her hands together.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he said. She nodded, and averted her eyes. "But… I'm glad you came."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah. You meant a lot of Bob," Hyde said, and grabbed his coat off the coat rack. She nodded, and walked him to the door. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." She nodded, and they were about to hug, but then decided it was too awkward, and instead just waved at each other.

"Night," she said, and he nodded, and closed the door behind him. Donna walked back into the living room, and Jackie was standing by the door.

"Okay, how are you feeling?" she asked. Jackie shook her head.

"Very conflicted," Jackie said. Donna nodded, and Jackie held up her hands. "But we aren't here to deal with my baggage. Donna, how are you holding up?" Donna shrugged, and they sat on the couch.

"It was a horrible phone call, but I can't say that I was surprised," Donna said. "Dad's heart had been giving out since the mid eighties. It was surprising that he lived this long. I'm obviously sad, but… At the same time I'm relieved."

"I understand," Jackie said. "Donna…. I'm so sorry I disappeared off the face of the Earth." Donna took her hand, and shook her head.

"Don't be sorry," Donna said. "You have a busy life."

"Donna, I could have taken time out of my life to keep up with you," Jackie said. Donna smiled, and shook her head.

"We both could have tried harder," Donna said. "Don't take all the blame." Jackie nodded, and held up her right hand.

"Now, from this moment on, I promise to be more involved in your life. I will come visit more often, I'll write you more, call you more-."

"Same here," Donna said. "It's all behind us." They hugged, and Eric and Kelso walked into the room.

"Oh man, we've walked in on my greatest fantasy," Kelso said. Donna and Jackie rolled their eyes, and Jackie yawned.

"Well tell Fez I'll see him in the morning, I think I'm going to go to bed," she said. The rest of them waved as she walked up the steps. She stopped, and looked out the window into the snowy night. She saw Hyde, leaning against his car, arms crossed, looking perturbed. She sighed, and went into the bedroom.


	6. Chapter 5: Of Eggs and Normality

Disclaimer: I own nothing... Wait!... No, still nothing.

"Barry, are you awake?" Jackie asked, sitting up. She heard him sigh.

"Of course I am, I'm on a lumpy futon," he said. "Why? What do you want? She yawned, and moved so her feet were on the pillows and her head was by the futon.

"It's so weird being back. Everyone is grown up," she said.

"So are you, Jackie," Barry said, turning over.

"Did I tell you that Michael's daughter Betsy is my goddaughter?" Jackie asked. "I never talk to her, but I send her a birthday card every year. I'm a pretty crappy godmother. Steven is her godfather, because Michael thought that we'd be together forever. I guess we fooled him."

"I still can't believe you dated him."

"Steven?"

"No, Kelso!"

"Oh, yeah."

"At least your taste in men has improved," he said, and she laughed a little bit.

"Betsy's eleven. Michael has two more kids now. Donna and Eric have Tommy It's just overwhelming," she said. "I wanted kids, Barry."

"Well I can't help you with that."

"I wanted a family. And I didn't get that, but I'm still happy. What does that mean? Do I still want a family?" she mused. Barry sighed, and sat up, knowing he wouldn't be getting sleep any time soon.

"Maybe your desire for a family isn't present because there isn't anyone you know that you want to have a family with," he said, lying down. She shrugged. It was possible. When her Mom was thirty, Jackie had already been born. And Jackie wasn't even in a serious relationship. "Can I sleep now?"

"It was so weird seeing Steven," Jackie continued, and Barry groaned. "I mean, he's changed, but stayed the same. If that makes sense."

"Loves, I drove a hundred some miles today, can you please just let me-?"

"I think he and I should talk about everything that's happened between us, but I don't know how to approach it."

"Goodnight, Jackie."

"But is that appropriate? I mean, we're here for Bob and Donna, so I shouldn't be so selfish," she said.

"It's selfish that you won't let me sleep!"

"Barry, I saw him leaning against his car tonight, and he looked so… sad," she said. "From what I can tell, he's alone, stuck in this town, and now I come back into his life. He let me go. And HE'S the one who is miserable."

"You're jumping to conclusions."

"I know when Steven Hyde is upset, it's one thing I have over him. I can read him," she said. He finally sat up and hit her with a pillow. "OW! What was that for!"

"Jackie, it's almost one in the morning!" Barry snapped. "I'm in a weird small town with people I don't know, I'm in a strange house on a crappy futon, and you won't let me just sleep!" She hit him with a pillow back, and he stood up and picked her up.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" she asked, as he dumped her on the futon. "HEY!" He got under the covers of the bed, and sighed in happiness.

"Goodnight, Jackie," he said. She leapt up on the bed, and nudged him over. "What!"

"We'll share a bed or you'll take the futon, it's your choice!" she said. He nodded, and they both sulked as they fell into sleep.

----------------------------------------------------

She woke up early the next morning, went to the kitchen, and saw Donna on the phone with the funeral home. She waved silently, and pointed at the fridge. Donna nodded, and went back to the phone. Jackie opened the fridge, and grabbed the butter and eggs. She found a spatula in the drawer it was in when she was a teen, and began to make scrambled eggs for everyone in the house. The back door opened, and Hyde walked in. Jackie almost hid behind the counter, she was wearing pajama pants and a tee shirt, but at least she had combed her hair. He waved, and she waved too. He walked to the table and set his coat on it. He pointed at the stove, and then at himself.

"You want some help?" he asked, quietly so Donna could talk on the phone.

"Sure," Jackie said. "I was going to make eggs and toast for everyone."

"Okay, I'll start up the toaster," he said, and she smiled at him quickly. She began beating the eggs, and Donna would steal quick glances at them, wondering if romance was beginning to stir a little bit. Jackie poured the eggs into the pan, and began scrambling them.

"So how have you been all these years, Jackie?" he asked. "I mean at NYU. How was that?"

"Oh, it was wonderful," she said. "When I was young I didn't think that college was really the thing for me, but once I got there, I just… I fit somewhere. And Barry was there for me since day 1, so I owe him a lot of my happiness."

"He seems like a nice guy," Hyde said. "You know… it's nice you came back." She continued beating the eggs, but looked at him. Zen Hyde was opening up? Sure, he opened up to her when they were dating, but… they weren't dating at the moment. And they had hated each other when she left, at least he had hated her. Even if she had loved him. What the heck happened in ten years to make it different?

"Oh," she said. "I, um, actually kind of find that surprising."

"How come?" he asked, but before she could answer Donna hung up the phone and walked to them.

"Okay, the Visitation is tonight at 7:30 at Werness Funeral Home," she said. "I should go tell Kitty and Red."

"Tell us what?" the crabby older voice said. Red and Kitty Foreman entered the kitchen, already dressed and ready to face the day.

"Hi, Red, Kitty," Donna said. Kitty pulled her into a hug, and Red looked at the eggs in a longing way. He then looked at Jackie.

"Jackie Burkhart!" he exclaimed, in his 'I'm surprised but still better than you' voice. "I can't believe that's you! You aren't that skinny little cheerleader that used to hang out in my basement!"

"Hi Red," she said, and handed Hyde the spatula so she could greet him. She hugged her father figure, and he sort of muttered 'jeeze' when she hugged him. "It's so good to see you!"

"You too, Jackie," he said.

"Jackie, sweetie, Red and I wanted to take you out to lunch today," Kitty said. "It's been so long since we've seen you, and we have so much catching up to do." Jackie smiled, and Kitty was visibly beaming. I had no idea she liked me that much, she thought.

Barry walked down the steps, rubbing his eyes, in a silk robe he packed. Hyde almost burst out laughing at it, and Jackie actually did.

"Oh keep quiet, you bitch," he said, grabbing a plate of eggs and toast. "You were kicking me all night long." Red rolled his eyes, unaware that they were not lovers.

"You look like Rocky Balboa!" Jackie laughed, and Barry swatted her on the shoulder as he sat at the table. "But yes, I would love to come to lunch with you two."

"Kitty, Red, the visitation is at 7:30 tonight at the Werness funeral home," Donna said. "Would you two like breakfast?"

"Oh Donna, how the roles have changed," Kitty said. "But no thank you, we ate."

"Where's Kelso?" Hyde asked.

"Still sleeping," Red said, obviously irritated. "He's a grown man and still sleeps like he doesn't have a job or a care in the world. I wouldn't feel safe if he was the cop in my neighborhood." Kitty pat his back, trying to get him to calm down.

"Red, your heart," she chastised. "Donna, where is my son?"

"He took Tommy for a walk around the neighborhood," Donna said. "But I'll tell him that you were planning on going to lunch."

"No, no, no," Red said, shaking his hand. "This lunch is just for us and Jackie to catch up. We don't need our son ruining that."

"What he means is that we just saw Eric and you at Thanksgiving, Donna, and he should be helping you with the arrangements," Kitty said. "Besides, this way Jackie can catch up with us. Red, come on, let's leave them all to their breakfast." Red nodded, and they left the Pinciotti house.

"Kitty really missed you," Donna said.

"Psh, I wonder why," Barry muttered. Jackie poured him some coffee. "Thanks, sweetie."

"Anytime, honey," she said. "But no, I am wondering why. Why did she miss me so much?"

"She saw you as the daughter she never had," Donna said.

"She had Laurie!" Jackie exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Would you admit to that?" Donna asked, eating eggs. "Good eggs, Jackie."

"Thanks. Okay. Well, I guess I have a lunch date," Jackie said. "Barry, are you going to be okay?"

"I'll find something to do," he said. "Donna, we've hit it off, you're now my best friend in waiting."

"I'm flattered?" Donna asked.

"Should Jackie be unable to perform her duties as my best friend, you are next in line," he said, the coffee obviously working. Donna smiled, now being genuinely flattered.

"Wow! Thank you!" she said.

"Women best friends are a gay man's dream," Barry said, standing and kissing the top of Jackie's head. "Though Donna, you can't be a true gay man's best friend because you're married, and best friends are usually lonely." Jackie shoved him off of her. She didn't like it when Barry called her lonely. She got eggs from the pan, and toast from the plate.

"I'm not lonely, I have YOU," she said, and Barry chuckled.

"I love you, Jackie," he said, and she flipped him off as she ate eggs while sitting at the table.

Kelso walked through the back door.

"Red turned on the radio really loud," he said. "I'm on vacation for God's sake."

"Kelso, you dumbass, you aren't on vacation, you're here for Bob's funeral!" Hyde said, hitting his shoulder. Just like old times, Jackie thought. Donna rolled her eyes, and Kelso piled eggs on his plate.

"Kelso, you can entertain Barry," Jackie said, and Barry shot her a nasty look. "I'm going out to lunch with the Foremans and Barry needs someone to hang out with him." Kelso nodded, and smiled.

"Sounds like fun," Kelso said, his mouth filled with eggs.

"Oh thanks a lot," Barry muttered to Jackie. She winked.

"I'm going to go take a shower, and make myself look better than this," she said. She left the kitchen, and began to walk up the steps. Hyde had followed her.

"Hey, Jackie," he said. She turned, and smiled. It was becoming easier.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Good eggs," he said. She smiled, and thanked him. "And why did you think that I wouldn't be happy to see you?" She averted her eyes, and kept that smile on her face, albeit somewhat awkward.

"Well… I don't know," she said. "I mean… the last interaction we had, I slapped you across the face. Pretty hard." He nodded, and put his hands in his pockets.

"You act like I didn't deserve it," he said. She chuckled a little, and held up her finger.

"I never said that," she said. He walked to the banister, and she looked down at him. "And… I'm sorry I hit you so hard." He nodded, and she arched an eyebrow at him. The silence was very uncomfortable, but neither of them would move. They just looked at each other.

"Did you miss me?" he asked. She didn't know how to answer that. She missed him so much at the beginning, but she trained herself not to think about him. As a defense mechanism.

"Did you?" she retorted. Neither of them had to answer, because Eric came through the front door with Tommy.

"Hoo! It's COLD out there!" he exclaimed, kicking the snow off his boots. "And I smell eggs." He saw them at the stairs, and Jackie and Hyde both stepped back.

"They're in the kitchen," Jackie said, and trotted up the steps as fast as she could without looking like she was consciously running.


	7. Chapter 6: Gossipy Hens

A/N : This is kind of a shorter chapter… But it has vital information!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Jackie was getting ready to meet Kitty and Red for lunch, when someone knocked on the bedroom door.

"Come in," she said, applying eyeliner.

"Oh, it's a beautiful goddess. Isn't this Jackie's room?" the voice asked. She turned, and Fez was there. She shrieked, and hugged her quasi ex.

"Oh my God, Fez!" she exclaimed. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. It has been so long, when Eric told me that you were upstairs I had to say hello to my ex girlfriend slash roommate," he said. She nodded, and smiled. "I heard that you were going out with Miss Kitty and Red for lunch."

"Yeah, they wanted to catch up," she said. "I heard that YOU own the salon now."

"Oh, yes, I do," he said. "And I heard that you and your friend Barry run a successful interior decorating business in New York City."

"Yeah, we do," she said. "Oh Fez, I'm sorry that I didn't keep up with you all these years."

"It's okay, Jackie," he said. "I understand. Now we can start over." She nodded, and pulled her hair back.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"You look good," he said. "You've barely aged a day."

"I've been getting that a lot lately," she said, and laughed slightly.

"Have you talked to Hyde?" Fez asked.

"Um, yes," she said. "Why?" Fez shrugged.

"I was just wondering," Fez said. "We're roommates, you know."

"Oh, no, I didn't know that."

"Yes, he has your old room," Fez said. "He moved in with me after Sam left him in a whirlwind. A whirlwind of anger."

"Sam left him?" Jackie asked.

"You didn't know?"

"I knew they were broken up, but she left him again? That's kind of weird, she wouldn't keep her paws off him when I was still here," Jackie said. She looked at the clock. 11:00. "Oh gosh, I have to go. We'll talk when I get back, Fez." She left the house in a hurry, took the rental car, and drove into the downtown.

----------------------------------------

She walked into the Italian restaurant, and Red and Kitty were in a booth. She waved, and sat across from them.

"Hi, sorry I'm a little late," Jackie said.

"You're five minutes late, that's nothing," Kitty said.

"Oh. Well, see, I'm really neurotic about time," Jackie said. "I hate being late to anything. It's just something I've come to hate."

"That's fine, Jackie," Kitty said. "So tell us about you. How have you been?"

Jackie told them about her time at NYU, and how she and Barry started up their business, and made it clear that they weren't dating without talking about his orientation. Kitty looked very interested, and though Red acted apathetic, Jackie could tell that he was actually interested as well. By the time their food came, Jackie felt like it was all about her.

"What about you two?" she asked. "How have you been?"

"Well, as you know, we're grandparents now," Kitty said. "Which is just WONDERFUL, I love being the grandmother who spoils her grandchild."

"You do spoil him and he's not even three," Red said. "He's already walking all over you, like a mini dictator."

"Oh hush Red," Kitty said. "It's hard having our son in Madison, but we see him and Donna at least once a month, be it us making the drive or them doing it. We hear from Laurie too, every once in awhile. She's coming in for Christmas."

"Kitty is thrilled that Steven and that foreign kid are still in town, so she can continue to cook dinner for someone," Red said.

"I cook dinner for you too, Red," Kitty said. "And Steven is alone in his life, he needs me."

"Kitty, he's 31, he doesn't need anyone," Red said, and Jackie raised her eyebrows.

"Steven and I only talked a little bit," Jackie said, and decided to do some investigating. "Why did Sam leave him?"

"Oh, it was just awful," Kitty said, and Red rolled his eyes. He hated hearing them gossip, and now that Jackie was back it was going to happen all weekend. "Eric had a friend from Madison that came home with him at Thanksgiving." Jackie nodded, eating her pasta and leaning in.

"Well," Kitty continued, "one day, Steven came home from working at the record store, and Sam DIDN'T have a job, even then. So anyway, he comes home, and he walks in on Sam and this boy Todd, having, um, relations, in their bed!" Jackie gasped, and Red groaned.

"Are you serious?" Jackie asked. "Oh my God, that's awful."

"Steven was so angry! Though I don't see why, she was a stripper for crying out loud."

"My point exactly," Jackie said, sipping on her water.

"And Steven never found anyone else. He just immersed himself in work at the record store, and has had a few 'friends', but nothing serious," Kitty said. "So Samantha went back to Las Vegas, and I say that's where she belongs."

"You women are acting like a couple of hens!" Red said. "Gossiping about a man's ruined relationship. It's pretty disgusting."

"Oh Red, I'm catching Jackie up!" Kitty said.

"On gossip!"

"Well should I tell her about your health?" Kitty asked, in her scary voice. Red shook his head, and went back to eating his health food salad that Kitty made him order. "So anyway, Jackie, I think I know why he never went out with any other girls seriously."

"Why is that?"

"He was still in love with you," Kitty said. Jackie snorted, and shook her head.

"I have a hard time believing that, we parted ways in a really bad fashion," Jackie said.

"I say just let it alone," Red said. "If Steven wants to be alone, there's nothing wrong with it. Now Jackie, why is your friend Barry alone?"

"Yes, why don't you two date?" Kitty asked. Jackie sipped her water, and raised her eyebrows.

--------------------------------------------

Jackie got home, and Barry had been hoodwinked into watching a movie with Kelso on TV. Neither of them had much to say to each other. When Jackie walked in the door, Barry stood and walked briskly to her.

"Thank God you're home, if I had to watch any more of that movie I thought I was going to SHOOT myself," he said, pulling her up the stairs.

"What was it?" she asked, shutting the door to the bedroom.

"Some movie called 'The Wraith'."

"Ooh, isn't Charlie Sheen in that movie?"

"How was lunch with Ma and Pa Kettle?" Barry asked, as she began setting out her visitation outfit.

"Don't call them that," Jackie said. "But it was fine. BARRY, I have such good gossip."

"Well spill!" he said. So she told him everything that Kitty told her, and Barry listened intently. Once she had finished, he shook his head.

"That could have been better," he said. She rolled her eyes, and Donna walked into the room.

"Okay, everything is arranged with the funeral home," she said. "Oh, this is just exhausting." Jackie walked to her and they hugged.

"I bet," Jackie said. "I haven't dealt with this yet, but I can imagine it's very tiring." Barry stood, and hugged them both.

"What is that for?" Jackie asked.

"The moment seemed like it could use a group hug," he answered.

"This man is so good," Donna said. "If only he were straight, I'd leave Eric for him."

"You'd have to fight me for him," Jackie said. Barry snorted.

"I'm cat nip, why can't guys fight over me?" he mused. Donna and Jackie shrugged.


	8. Chapter 7: Showdown

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

The visitation had a good group of people. Bob's poker buddies were there, and Jackie found herself trying to look good but inconspicuous. The small presentation was nice, and the funeral would be longer. Now people were just socializing. She would have talked with Donna, but most everyone was flocking to her and Eric, so she found herself alone. Barry was chatting it up with Fez, and Jackie hoped that Barry wouldn't get the wrong idea and have his heart broken. She had viewed the coffin, and felt numb, as if it wasn't real. Kitty was crying again, and Red was doing his best to comfort her. Kelso was talking with Hyde, and Jackie just wished that she could melt into the crowd. It was very hard being there. She wished that it was an Irish wake, so she could just drink and forget about it. So she walked out onto the front steps of the funeral home, and looked up at the sky. Damn, she thought, and wished that she hadn't quit smoking. Because she could really go for a cigarette.

The door opened, and out walked Hyde, who had also been hoping to be alone. But he saw Jackie, and walked to her.

"Hey," he said. She turned, and smiled a little bit.

"Hey," she replied. "That was…"

"… Yeah."

"It still hasn't processed that he's gone," she said. "I even saw his dead body, and I still don't believe it."

"That's understandable," Hyde said. "So, we haven't had much alone time together." She shrugged.

"I would have thought you wouldn't have minded that," she said.

"God, why would you say that?" he asked, irritated.

"I… I'm sorry, I didn't really mean anything by it," she said. He sighed, and walked to the wall of the building. "So I've heard that you own the record store now. That's pretty great."

"It's fine," he said, and she leaned against the railing. "It's not New York, but I like it." She sensed hostility.

"Okay, let's just get it over with," she said. "Why are you so pissy towards me all of a sudden?"

"I'm not pissy."

"Sure you are," she said. "I know when you're mad, Steven, I've always known when you're mad. So what did I do? I've barely said one word to you!"

"That's the problem!" he snapped.

"Well, being back is really hard for me!"

"Not just this time, you didn't talk to anyone from Point Place for all those years!" he stated, angry. "And now you just waltz back into our lives, and act like nothing happened! Like you didn't leave or forget about us while you went and lived it up in New York City!" She crossed her arms, and stormed to him.

"Oh, well, FORGIVE me for not dropping you a line, Steven, but when I left you made it pretty clear how you felt about me!" she snapped. "So if I didn't send you a letter or call you in all these years, it's because you didn't want me to!"

"How would you even know?" he asked. She held up her hands. She was not about to fight with him while at Bob's Visitation.

"We aren't doing this here, it's not appropriate," she said, tersely. "I am here for Donna and Bob, and will be DAMNED if I let you get to me when I need to be here for my friend!"

"I'm surprised you still consider her a friend!" Hyde said. "You didn't even come to her wedding!" She growled, and walked back into the funeral home. But he followed her.

"God, you always picked the most ill-timed moments to lay into me!" she hissed. "Can't we just handle this after everyone leaves?" He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"I really think we need to talk this out right now," he said. She groaned, and held up a finger. She walked to where Donna and Eric were.

"Um, Donna, Steven wanted to talk to me, so…" she said, thoroughly embarrassed. Donna nodded, and smiled.

"It's fine, I'll tell Barry to take the car," Donna said. Jackie nodded, and Donna could tell she was looking upset. "Is everything-?"

"Well, Steven is being Steven," she said. Eric and Donna nodded, and Jackie walked back to Steven.

"We're taking your car," she said. He nodded, and they walked to the parking lot in silence.

--------------------------------------------------

He drove them to the record store, an awkward break in conversation looming as they exited the car, and as they walked to the store. He unlocked the door. It looked fairly similar to when she had last seen it, but there were mainly tapes and some CDs in it now. She looked around, and sat on the couch.

"You took me here to talk, so talk," she said. "What has you so mad? I didn't do anything to you. I've barely said anything to you."

"That's my problem, Jackie," he said. "You've been acting like it's all back to normal with everyone else, but not me." She sighed, and crossed her arms.

"To be fair, this is how we were when I left," she said. "We barely said anything to each other, and when we did we were usually fighting."

"That was so long ago.."

"But it's still how it was, Hyde," she said. He was visibly shaken by this new moniker. She didn't really know why she did it, but she didn't want to call him by his first name. She just didn't. Maybe she did it to hurt him, reverting back to her high school games, but it felt like the right thing to do.

"You may think that you've changed, Jackie, but you haven't," he said, crossing his arms as well. "You're still that cheerleader who thinks she's better than everybody else."

"No I'm not," she said, standing up. "That didn't get me anything in life! I'm grown up now, I'm successful, just because YOU'RE stuck here it doesn't mean that you can resent me for leaving and coming back!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"It means that you can't stand seeing me happy for once!" she stated. "You liked seeing me miserable because it gave you power over me, the only power you had back then. But now that power is gone, and it just KILLS you. It KILLS you."

"It wasn't about power," he snapped. "You hurt me."

"I hurt YOU?" she asked, stamping her foot. "You have got to be kidding me! I didn't DO anything to you!"

"I thought you'd slept with Kelso!" he yelled.

"But I HADN'T!" she yelled back. "You're the one who came home with a wife! After you'd been so afraid to commit to ME, you came home with a stranger you thought you married while DRUNK. And you STAYED with her even though I told you that I loved you and wanted to make it work! For what? Spite!"

"I'm not the one who ran away from our problems!" he yelled back at her. "I'm not the one who up and moved away without saying a decent goodbye beyond a stupid two word note! You at least owed me that!"

"I didn't owe you anything! I left that way because I didn't want to hate you!" she snarled. He glared, and sat on the couch. She was taking out the claws now, it had been stewing inside of her and she didn't even realize it. "I left because I didn't want to stay in the town where the worst thing in my life happened."

"I was the worst thing in your life?" he asked.

"No, what you did was!" she exclaimed, and decided to go for the throat. "And I'm sorry that your fiancée fucked someone else and left you, which, I might add, is a BIIIG surprise. But now you know how it feels to have your heart ripped out and stomped on, now you know how I felt! You know how you made ME feel! And I hope that it hurt." She had sank to the chair, the anger took a lot out of her. He was staring at her, almost speechless.

"You can be really mean," he said.

"I learned from you," she retorted. It was his turn now. And he wasn't about to hold back.

"For your information, I don't know how you felt. Because I never loved Sam," he said. "I stayed with her because I knew I wouldn't be attached to her. I kept her around because I wanted to hurt you. To mock you, knowing that if I chose someone I didn't know over the love, er, _supposed_ love of my goddamn life it would have torn you apart. It certainly worked."

"It got you a lonely life."

"Well what do you have?" he asked. "A job that consumes you, one that you can hide from reality with. The reality that you have no one."

"I have Barry."

"Oh that's right, you're his beard, how fulfilling," he mocked. "You know, I think you were scared to come back here not because of the fact you ditched your friends, but because you knew that we would all be happier than you. And you didn't want to face that."

"That's not-," she started, but he cut her off.

"You know you're alone, and you hate the reminder," he continued, sneering. "You tell yourself that you're happy, that you have it better than me, but you're still that elitist girl who is actually worse off than everyone else. At least I was engaged for a time, at least I had someone who was constant, be it for a short time. Tell me something, did you jump from guy to guy at NYU, searching for approval? Did one glimmer of acceptance and affection get you in bed with them?"

"Steven, for God's sake," she begged, but he wasn't about to stop.

"And when they all rejected you in the end, that reality slowly began to sink in, that you were alone. And now that you're thirty, that reality has just knocked you to the ground because you now have to accept the fact that NO ONE will love you as much as you love them."

She noticed the tears falling down her face at that point, they had been unnoticed by both of them until his bitter and nasty tirade stopped. When he realized that she was crying, he felt bad for laying it into her so horribly. She did make some nasty comments, but he knew that hers paled in comparison to his. They always did.

She held in the sobs that were threatening to burst from her throat, and walked for the door. He stayed on the couch, and she turned to face him.

"You know, Steven," she said, grabbing the door handle. "You said that I was good at being mean… But you are still the best." He stood up.

"Jackie, wait, I'm-." But she wouldn't listen. With that, she walked out the door, and towards the neighborhoods.

Hyde sat on the couch, and really regretted everything he had said. He kicked the couch, and leaned back on it. Dammit, man, she's still just a lonely girl, he thought. And you abused that knowledge to tear her apart. Feel good about yourself.

----------------------------------------------

Barry was on the bed, reading a magazine and waiting for Jackie to get home. Donna knocked on the door, and he looked up as she opened it.

"Donna, it's late," he said. "What are you doing up?"

"I can't really sleep," she said, leaning in the doorframe. "I'm sure you understand."

"Heh, I do," he said. She nodded, and had a glass in her hand. "Night cap?"

"Just water," she said.

"Well, I don't want to keep you from it."

"Oh, no one will keep me from that," she said, and laughed a little. "I wonder if Jackie is gonna get back soon…"

"Me too." She smiled, and left the doorway. He heard the downstairs door open and slam. He hoped that their meeting was a good one, but when she walked through the bedroom door, her face said otherwise.

"How'd it go?" he asked. She closed the door, and sat on the bed, across from him. "Loves?" She let the tears go, and Barry sighed. He put his arms around her, and she hugged him tightly as she sobbed.

"Oh loves," he whispered. He pulled her in his lap, and brushed her hair with his fingers. She wailed into his chest, and he rocked her slowly. The door opened, and Donna was there, water glass in hand. She must have heard her sobbing, Barry thought.

"Jackie," she said, and sat next to Barry and hugged her too. "Jackie, what happened?" She just sobbed, and let her two closest friends hug her.

"I never should have come back!" she exclaimed, between sobs. She was weeping so hard her tiny frame shook. Donna and Barry just hugged her, and looked at each other, at a loss for what to do. Barry knew he'd get little sleep again, but this time he didn't care.


	9. Chapter 8: Lay to Rest

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Everyone has made me feel very welcome to this website, so I just want to tell everyone thanks.

Disclaimer: None of this is mine. Except Barry.

Barry helped Jackie zip up her funeral dress, and she did his tie.

"How handsome you look," she said, and he smiled.

"And how pretty YOU look," he answered. She grinned, and went to the mirror. "Are you feeling better, honey?"

"Yes, yes I am," she said. "Nothing a little sleep couldn't fix."

"Good," Barry said, and they didn't talk about it again. Because in this situation, a good friend won't talk about it. "Are you ready for this funeral?" She sighed, and did her hair some more.

"I don't think that anyone could be completely ready for a funeral," she said. "But… I'm as ready as I can be… More ready than last time…"

"Yeah, no kidding." She pulled back, and checked herself out. Her dress was black, but it hugged her curves perfectly. It had a baby doll look about it, and she looked good, in her mind.

Donna walked in the room, and looked them over.

"Very nice," she said. "Eric, Tommy, and I are riding with the Foremans, but Jackie, do you remember how to get to the church?" Jackie nodded, and hugged Donna. But Donna hugged back even tighter, because she knew that Jackie needed one too.

The church was small, but there were a good number of people there. Jackie and Barry sat next to Donna and Eric, and Tommy sat in Jackie's lap. She was a little uncomfortable at first, but she got the hang of it quickly. He was well behaved, and Jackie bounced him if he got a little squirmy. She looked back at all the guests. She saw Hyde, sitting near the back. He saw her, and she turned her head quickly. It hurt the most because what he said was true. He still could read her. It drove her crazy.

The reverend asked for people to say things about Bob. Donna obviously had the most to say, and Jackie was still a little numb.

"My Dad was probably both the nicest and most infuriating Dad in the world," Donna said. "He was very supportive, but it isn't easy raising a teenage girl on your own. So when he didn't understand things, it was infuriating. But the fact that he tried to understand meant so much to me. He was a happy man, even when his health began declining he had a positive outlook. His goal was to live to meet his first grandchild, and he met that goal. So, it comforts me knowing that he died happy, and fulfilled in life. I wish that I was as strong as he was, but I'm just not sure. The last time we talked on the phone, he told me that he was proud of me, and that I wasn't his little girl anymore. Well, he was wrong. I am going to miss him, because I still am his little girl, always, and forever." She laid a rose inside the coffin, and the tears were visible as they ran down her face. She sat down again, and the reverend asked if anyone else had anything to say. Some of his poker buddies did, and Red said a concise speech about how Bob was a good neighbor, if not a dumbass some of the time, and then Jackie found herself handing Tommy to Donna, and walking to the front of the church. She looked over everyone, and took in a deep breath.

"I met Bob when I was a teenager. I never really had any interaction with him, until some personal troubles in my life left me without my parents. And I didn't want to live alone in their empty house," she said. "And Bob, without knowing me very well, offered me a place to live until one of my parents came back for me. I know that I was a bratty teenage girl, who made things hard for a lot of people, but Bob didn't mind having TWO teenage girls in his house. I have this vivid memory of a late night, when I couldn't sleep, it was still early in my new living arrangement. I was sitting in the kitchen, and Bob came in. He offered to make me waffles. Just like that." The tears were falling again, so she laid a rose in his coffin, and sat down next to Barry.

It was snowing in the cemetery, and Barry had his arm around Jackie. After the coffin was lowered into the ground, and people began to disperse, Jackie and Donna were left alone at the grave. As the group walked away, Barry decided to make an attempt to reach out to Hyde.

"Is it always this cold here?" he asked, and Hyde laughed a little.

"Only about half the year," Hyde said.

"Well, in New York it's this cold maybe once in awhile… Though when it is the city stops."

"So how come you're being so nice to me? I'm sure that Jackie told you what I said to her," Hyde said, staring ahead. Barry shrugged, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, but you know, um, Hyde," he said, finding it weird to call him by his last name. "I have been best friends with Jackie for the past eleven years. I know how she is. So I don't condone it, but I understand it." Hyde chuckled a little, and Barry shoved his hat back on his head.

Jackie and Donna stared at the grave.

"He was a better father than mine was," Jackie said. "Though, that's not too hard. I should have called more."

"He knew you cared," Donna said. "You shouldn't kick yourself about this." Jackie rubbed Donna's back.

"You have many great stories to tell Tommy," Jackie said, and Donna nodded. "Are you ready?" Donna nodded, and they walked away from the grave. They strolled to the cars, where the rest of the old gang was. They all hugged Donna, and Jackie stood on the outside of the hugging, with Barry.

"Do you know what we could use right now?" Eric asked.

"What?" Donna replied.

"A good old fashioned circle in my parents basement," he said. Donna covered Tommy's ears.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked. "We aren't kids anymore, Eric, we're responsible adults!"

"I'm just saying that after the lunch is done at Mom and Dad's house, we should think of a way to just relax," Eric said. "It's not like we have pot or anything."

"Well, I do," Hyde said.

"How are you not burned out?" Donna asked.

"I've been saving it for a special occasion, Leo gave it to me awhile ago."

"As an officer of the law, I want to say that I do not approve of this," Kelso said. "But I'm on vacation."

"For the last time, this isn't a vacation!" Donna said.

"I agree, this sounds like a good plan," Fez said.

"Okay, who all is in?" Eric said. "After the lunch is done, we meet in the basement of my parents house."

"What if you Dad catches us?" Jackie asked.

"This isn't high school anymore, Jackie," Kelso said. "He can't do anything about it."

"Except call the cops," Donna said.

"So we tell him that you need time with your friends to grieve," Eric said. "Grieving women freak Red out."

"You're going to use my pain as an excuse to get high," Donna said, irritated. "Ugh, I'm insulted."

"Are you in or out, Donna?" Eric asked. Donna sighed, and then smiled a little bit.

"Well, I could use the relaxation," she said. "I'm in if Jackie's in." They all turned and looked at Jackie. She stepped back a little, and looked at Barry. He actually looked excited for a circle, and he was, it made him feel like one of the gang. This gang that he hadn't even known until two days prior… But that didn't matter.

"…. Okay, I'm in," Jackie said. The guys cheered triumphantly. Kelso picked Jackie up again, and she shrieked a little bit. "God, you love showing off your policeman strength, don't you?"

"If I wanted to show it off I'd pick up Hyde," Kelso said, setting her down.

---------------------------------------------

The lunch at the Foremans was packed with people, and Eric began a chain to tell the gang to go to the basement. Jackie was drinking some soda, when Fez tapped her shoulder.

"We're going to the basement, you tell Hyde," he said. She almost choked on her soda.

"Do I have to tell Hyde?" she asked.

"Yes, you have to tell Hyde, everyone else has been told!" Fez hissed.

"What about Barry, can't I tell Barry?"

"Barry told me."

"What!"

"It went me, Barry, Donna, Kelso, Eric," Fez said.

"Donna told Barry, that witch, she's trying to become his girl best friend!"

"What?"

"Never mind. Okay, I'll tell Steven," she said, and Fez went for the basement. She set her soda on the counter, and looked for Steven. He was on the back porch, by himself. She swore under her breath, she didn't want to face him with no one around. But she had no choice. The Circle was counting on her; after all, he had the pot. She took in a deep breath, and walked onto the back porch.

"We're going to the basement now," she said, and turned to go back inside.

"Jackie, hang on," he said. She stopped, but didn't turn around. "I… I wanted to say that I'm sorry." She shrugged, but remained facing the house. He stood up, and walked so he was right behind her. "Everything I said last night… It was really insensitive of me to say it. And I didn't mean it, I was just frustrated, and angry, and everything you said, it was… true." She kept her arms crossed, but turned around.

"Well, everything you said was true too," she said.

"But I shouldn't have said it, you didn't deserve that," he said. "So, I'm sorry for the way I blew up at you."

"Forget it," she said. "It's okay."

"We should try again tonight," he said.

"Try again at what, insulting each other?"

"No, I meant… We should try to be friendly tonight. It's been a long time since we've been friendly with each other," he said. She nodded. Should she accept this invitation? She was afraid that it would end up hurting again, but she also knew that taking risks was a part of life.

"Okay, what do you suggest?" she asked.

"Dinner?" he asked. She nodded.

"Okay. But, we need to get to the basement now," she said. He nodded, and they walked into the house and down the stairs.

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The Circle was around the small square table, and there had to be two people to each side, except for Hyde. He got a side to himself. Eric and Donna, Hyde, Fez and Kelso, and Barry and Jackie were around it in that order. They had toked a couple times, and the affects were kicking in.

"Oh my GOD, did you see the Reverend?" Donna asked, laughing. "He, he looked like a fish!"

"I was gonna say toad, but fish works too," Eric said.

"It's the Church's deep secret," Hyde said, and laughed a little bit. "They're splicing their holy men with fish and toads to create a SUPER RACE of reverends!"

Kelso and Fez looked at each other, terrified.

"We have to warn the people," Fez said.

Jackie was laughing hysterically, and Barry was staring ahead with a dumb grin on his face.

"We can't tell the people, Fez, because they would never believe us," Kelso said. "It's just like Soylent Green."

"You're a cop, Kelso, they'd believe you," Fez said.

"I think just let the Reverends be toads and fish in peace," Jackie said, and burst out laughing again. Barry nodded, and Donna held up her hands.

"Oh my God, what if they try to kidnap Tommy!" she exclaimed, and leapt up to find her two year old.

"Donna Donna Donna, calm down," Eric said. "Tommy's napping in my old room, the reverends won't think to look for him there."

"Besides, he's not a man of the cloth," Hyde said. "They only want the holy ones because they are righteous. It's a conspiracy!"

"You and your stupid stupid conspiracies," Fez said. "I thought you would have outgrown that a long time ago."

"Hey man, those fuckers on the grassy knoll WANT us to give up on our conspiracies," Hyde said, and then laughed a little bit. Barry held up his hands.

"Hyde, I'm sorry to disappoint, but the grassy knoll men did not execute anything in the actual Kennedy assassination." Everyone stared at him, and Jackie continued laughing.

"Sure they did!"

"They planned it, but they didn't pull the trigger," Barry said. "Everyone knows that the Mafia wanted Kennedy out of the picture because he was cracking down on them, so they hired Oswald, a down on his luck ex military man with a new baby at home, to pull the trigger. That's why Ruby shot him, he had well known Mob ties, he had cancer, and nothing to lose. That way your main link is dead, and Ruby dies before going to jail."

Everyone's jaw dropped.

"You're so lucid!" Donna exclaimed. "How do you do it?" Barry shrugged.

"I don't know. But we should warn people about the fish toad holy men," Barry said. "They could start a holy war!"

"Don't be a dumbass, Barry," Jackie said, and then burst out laughing again. "I sounded like Red! You dumbass! I'll put my foot in your ass, dumbass!"

"Oh my God, Red's possessed Jackie!" Fez yelled, and leapt up from the table to leave the basement.

"The power of Christ compels you!" Kelso yelled, making a cross with his fingers.

"I'll get the Fish Reverend!" Eric said, and Donna pulled him down. "But Jackie's been possessed by the Devil, we need an exorcism!"

"Only twelve year old girls get possessed, because they're seen as the purest thing the devil could take," Hyde said. "Jackie's just been possessed by Red."

"Red isn't dead, though!" Barry said.

"Dumbass!" Jackie yelled again.

"Is he having an out of body experience?" Eric asked.

"Why would he take a woman's body?" Donna asked.

"You damn kids had better quit your yelling!" Jackie yelled, and laughed so hard she fell off Barry's lap.

"HEY!" the voice from the top of the stairs yelled, and they all shut up. "You damn kids better keep it down in your mourning or reminiscing or what not or so help me GOD I will put a boot in your asses!" They all stopped talking, except Jackie, who was still on the floor. Barry kicked her gently with his foot to shut her up.

"Yes, Mr. Foreman," Kelso yelled.

"Sorry, Dad," Eric responded.

"We'll be quiet!" Hyde called.

"…. Dumbass!" Jackie hissed, and clamped her hands over her mouth to stop her giggling. Donna shrugged at Barry.

"You should have seen her when she was a teenager," Donna said.

"And YOU should have seen her at NYU," Barry retorted.


	10. Chapter 9: Facing It

A/N: I was going to upload this last night, but one of my roommates was eating all the house's bandwidth! But here it is now! It's kind of longer than I thought it was gonna be... Oh well.

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

Jackie was trying to decide if she wanted to look good or normal that night. Donna and Barry were sitting on the bed while she tried to decide what she wanted to wear.

"Okay, should I just wear the jeans and sweater?" she asked. "Or should I wear the flowy skirt with the sweater and boots? OR should I wear the leather pants and the flowy shirt?"

"Why did you pack so much?" Donna asked. "You knew you were just going to be here until tomorrow."

"I know, but I didn't know what I was going to wear to the funeral, so I packed a few extras," Jackie said. "He saw the skirt and shirt last night, should I wear something else?"

"Did you pack an armoire?" Barry asked, and Donna laughed.

"Yes Barry, that's right, I packed an armoire," she said, sarcastically. "Okay. I think I have it. The sweater with the flowy skirt."

"Flowy, that's a new word to me," Donna said. "Where are you two going?"

"I don't know, it's up to him," Jackie said, walking into the closet to change. "Donna, it's okay if I go out with him tonight, right? You don't mind?"

"No, Jackie, it's fine," Donna said. "You came back to see everybody, which includes Hyde. Eric and I are going to take Barry and Tommy out to dinner as well."

"It's true," Barry said. "You go out and have fun, loves. It's your last night here, you deserve it." She threw on her outfit, and leapt from the closet.

"Ta da!" she said, throwing her arms out. Donna and Barry both whistled. "How do I look?"

"You look fabulous!" Barry said. "When is he picking you up?" She looked at the clock.

"Oh," she said. "About fifteen minutes! It took so long to figure out the best outfit, I didn't even consider make up stuff yet."

"Hyde isn't going to care what makeup you have on," Donna said, and Tommy ran into the room. "Hi honey!"

"Mommy," he said, and she picked him up. "Pretty lady." He pointed at Jackie. Jackie grinned from ear to ear.

"See, Tommy thinks you're pretty," Donna said.

"Donna, he's two," Barry said, and Jackie glared at him. "I'm only saying that any girl is going to be a pretty lady to him!"

"Not Laurie," Donna said. "He's scared of Aunt Laurie."

"Ouch," Jackie said, and began putting on eyeliner.

She sat on the couch, waiting for Hyde to ring the doorbell. She was dressed for the weather, and kept staring in her compact.

"You look fine, Jackie," Donna said, walking out of the kitchen.

"This is so weird, Donna, I don't know why I'm caring so much," she said. "We had that horrible fight last night, and now I just want to look pretty."

"You still love him," Donna said, joking.

"I… do not," Jackie said, turning back to the mirror.

"You do?" Donna said. "Oh my God, you still love him."

"Oh PLEASE," Jackie said, spinning around. "Spare me, Donna, it's been years since we've talked."

"That doesn't matter, you still love him!" Donna said, and laughed a little. Jackie shot her a glare, and Donna just hugged herself and smiled. "Well, if it gives you any solace, I think that he may be interested in you too."

"Ugh, if you heard the things he said to me last night, you wouldn't believe that," Jackie said.

"Then why are you going out with him?"

"Because… I… You…. Because I just am!" Jackie answered, and the doorbell rang. "Crap. How do I look?"

"For the last time you look fine!" Donna said. "Just answer the door." Jackie stood, but then made a sad noise. "What?"

"You do it," Jackie said. "He needs to think I'm still getting ready."

"Are you kidding me!" Donna asked.

"Donna, PLEASE!" Jackie exclaimed. Donna groaned, and nodded. Jackie ran up the steps, and Donna went to the door. She opened it, and Hyde was there.

"Hi, you," she said. He smiled, and walked in the room. "Jackie isn't quite ready yet, but she will be soon."

"That's fine," he said. "I can wait."

"You seem nervous."

"I am."

"Why?"

"I said some really mean things that I didn't really mean," he said. "I was just really angry, and I let it get the better of me."

"Talk to me, Hyde, we've always been good at talking to each other," she said. He chuckled a little, and they sat on the couch.

"I don't know," he said. "She left without saying goodbye that time, and now she just comes prancing back into our lives, and everyone has forgiven her, but me." Donna rubbed his back.

"You know why that is, don't you?" Donna asked.

"No, why?"

"You blame her for Sam leaving you," she stated.

"That's stupid."

"Why is it stupid?" Donna demanded.

"Sam left because I didn't love her."

"And why didn't you love her?"

"Because… I…. You…. Because I didn't!" he stammered. "She was hot, but she wasn't much beyond that. She wasn't…"

"She wasn't Jackie."

"… I guess."

"Hyde, you know you have a second chance here," Donna said. "She's upstairs, getting ready for this date, and she's just as nervous as you are. You're both older, you're both mature, and you still care about her. You never stopped caring about her." He sighed, and at that moment Jackie walked down the steps.

"Hello, Steven," she said, stopping at the bottom and tilting her head to the side. He stood, and nodded at her.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded, and put on her coat. He walked to her, and opened the door for her. He turned back at Donna, who gave him a thumbs up. He nodded, and walked out with Jackie.

-------------------------------------------

He took her to a nice restaurant that replaced the restaurant where Eric and Donna had their first date. It was now a very fancy French place, which he didn't think had much demand around here, but it got good business. She whistled at the fanciness of it all, and he shrugged.

"I remembered you like French food, and it's the only place near here," he said, and she nodded. They sat at a table with candles on it, and she chuckled a little bit. "What?"

"You never took me to nice places when we were dating and now when we aren't you do," she said, and giggled a little bit. He smiled, and shrugged. "It strikes me as funny, is all."

"It's ironic," he said. A waiter came by and took their orders, and brought them wine.

"I want to apologize about what I said last night," she said. "I shouldn't have brought Sam into it."

"Hey, you called her Sam, not the ugly stripper," he said, and she laughed. He smiled, and they went back to being awkward teens again. It was like it was their first date, even though they had done so much more than date when they were kids.

"So how has it been Steven?" she asked, making small talk. "I hear you may be moving to another city soon."

"Yeah, I'm thinking of getting out of Wisconsin," he said. "Expand the music empire or something."

"Would you stay in the Midwest?" she asked.

"I actually have no idea."

"Oh." Silence again.

"This is dumb, we know each other so well but we can't even make conversation," he said, and she laughed a little bit.

"It is weird, because even after all these years we still know each other's sore spots," she said. "Maybe we haven't changed."

"I think you have," he said. "I know I said you hadn't, but you have. You've grown up." She smiled, and sipped her wine.

"So have you." She smiled at him, and he averted his eyes. Damn it Donna, why did you get that thought in my head, he cursed silently. Jackie had changed. She was grown up, but she also seemed sadder. Life had kicked in, reality had made her see who she really was. And even though she had changed, he couldn't help but see that perky young girl who drove him crazy. In more ways than one.

"It's just so strange," she said. "I never knew how much I cared about Bob until he died. I wish I could have told him." He nodded, and took her hand on impulse. They both looked at it, and he pulled away quickly.

"This is so stupid," he muttered. "We're friends and me just touching your hand is still weird to us."

"So let's try and talk this out like adults this time," she said. "I think we have to." He agreed, and lifted his glass to it.

"Sounds good to me."

"Did you like me even though you married Sam?" she asked. She cut right to the chase, but she wasn't hostile about it. He sipped his wine, and knew this time he couldn't be that evasive boy he had been. He had to be honest with her, because she was going to be honest with him.

"Yes. I wasn't over you," he said.

"Okay," she said. "If you weren't over me, why did you treat me so SO horribly?"

"Because I thought that if I did you would leave me alone and I wouldn't have to keep seeing you and thinking about you," he answered.

"And when I did leave?"

"…. It hurt… Okay, it's my turn."

"Go ahead."

"Why didn't you say goodbye to me?" he asked. She had to contemplate how to answer this one. She swirled her wine, and sort of smiled so as not to cry.

"I didn't say goodbye because…. Well, okay, one, I really didn't think you cared that I was leaving," she said. "And two, I was afraid that if I saw you, and if you were so mean when I said goodbye, that I would hate you. And I didn't want to hate you. OR, and this was worse, I wouldn't want to leave, and it would just get worse from there." He nodded, and she smiled sadly.

"When Eric left, our group fell apart," she said. "And when I left, did it mend?" Hyde sat back in his chair, and shook his head.

"No," he said. "Because you weren't there."

"Oh please."

"No, seriously," he said, and laughed a little bit. "It just wasn't the same. Kelso was gone, Fez was at the Salon so much, Eric and Donna were spending so much time together, and I… I was solitary again." She nodded, and pat his hand.

"And all these years, I blamed you for my isolation," he said, obviously upset by it. "But in the end, it was all my fault."

"Why did Sam leave you?" Jackie asked. "Because, I know she slept with someone else, but then it gets confusing. You didn't leave her, she left you." He was going to answer, but their food arrived, so he didn't have to.

---------------------------------------------------

After dinner they drove to the place of their first date, on that Veterans Day that changed both their lives. It was now colder, and snow was on the ground, but it all seemed very familiar. They sat on the hood of his car, and just stared into the night air.

"And we're back here," she said.

"Yep."

"Our first actual date," she said.

"Uh huh."

"When we didn't realize how good we had it."

"Depressing."

"It was true." She shivered, and he looked at her.

"Cold?" he asked.

"Kind of. It's my scarf, it's not very good. At least not for this weather. It's more stylish. I just can't quite find that scarf that is stylish AND warm."

"That's too bad. Okay, I have another question," he said, and she looked over at him. "That Veterans Day, after we kissed, you said that you didn't feel anything. Was that true?"

"Was it true for you?" She turned the question on him, which was irritating, but he couldn't blame her.

"…. No."

"Me neither, I just wanted to stop bugging you because I KNEW that I really liked you, and didn't want to drive you away," she said.

"It's just a night of truths, isn't it?" he asked. She smiled, and nodded. "What do you think would have happened if we had admitted we did feel something?"

"You know, I've been haunted by what ifs for the longest time," she said. "And I usually don't think about them. But… Okay, I think that if we had just come clean with how we were feeling, maybe our relationship could have grown and progressed in a normal manner."

"Yeah, no kidding," he said. "I could have wooed you."

"Oh shut up, you would NOT have wooed me!" she said, laughing. He laughed too, he knew she was right.

"Okay, I wouldn't have wooed you, but we could have started differently. And I wouldn't have thought that you chose me because Kelso was gone, which was probably our problem the entire time."

"Kelso?"

"No, my paranoia and inability to trust you." She nodded, and looked over at him.

"I have one last question for you, Steven," she said. He looked at her, and nodded. "If you could have changed one thing, what would it have been?" He sighed, and shrugged.

"Well, the obvious thing to say is that I wouldn't have brought Sam home," he said, and she laughed a little bit. "But, the realistic thing to say is that I would have accepted the fact that I cared about you." She nodded. "What about you?"

"I wouldn't have been such a manipulator," she said, and left it at that. "So… where do we go from here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well Steven, the fact of the matter is that I didn't stop caring about you," she said. "I'll own up to that." He looked at her, and she was looking at the ground. He sighed, and decided that he should own up to it as well.

"… Yeah, I didn't stop caring about you either," he said. "That's why Sam left. She knew. I walked in on her and Todd having sex, and I just left the room. Sam followed, and asked 'aren't you mad?', I just kind of looked at her blankly. And then she figured it out. She figured it out before I did."

"And when you said that you never loved me… Was that true?"

"Jackie, come on. You know me better than that."

"I'm not sure what I know anymore, Steven. Did you ever love me?"

"…. Yes. I was in love with you when I said it." She nodded, and stared ahead.

"So where do we go from here?" she asked again. "You were… you ARE the love of my life. But I live in New York and you live here."

"Yeah."

"… Steven, I still love you," she heard herself saying, and couldn't believe she said it.

"… Yeah?"

"Yeah." And with that, they slammed into each other, kissing and grabbing and falling onto the car. He rolled on top of her, and they made out like teenagers again. She ran her hands through his hair, and then shoved him off of her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not having sex with you on a car," she said. "It's cold, and we did that once before and it wasn't very comfortable."

"Okay, then… we go back to my place," he said. She nodded, and they ran and leapt in the car. He sped the car away from their lookout spot, and towards his and Fez's apartment.

----------------------------------------------

They threw the door open, kissing and fumbling for a light switch. Hyde found it, closed the door with his foot, and lifted Jackie up as he kissed her and carried her into his bedroom. She kicked the bedroom door shut with her boot, and it slammed. Fez walked out of his room, and heard the noises coming from the bedroom. And since he'd heard Hyde and Jackie go at it before, he knew what the noises were. So he smiled, considered listening, but just went into his bedroom instead.

----------------------------------------------

Back at the Pinciottis, Barry looked at the clock. It was midnight. He knew that Jackie wasn't coming home that night, so he laid back on the bed, and reveled in the fact he was going to get a good nights sleep while in this town after all.

A/N: There's still more, I know this seems fairly 'final', but… it's not.


	11. Chapter 10: Same Old Mistake

Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with That 70s Show, and I certainly don't own Johnny Cash.

Jackie sat up the next morning, and realized she was in her old room. She was confused for a second, and then remembered the night before. She smiled, and looked over at Hyde, who was still asleep. She nudged him, and he woke up. She grinned, and stretched.

"Good morning," she said, and streched. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept better than I've slept in a long time," he said.

"Well good."

"Yeah." She rubbed her eyes, and began humming. He listened to the song, and sat up in surprise. "Are you humming Johnny Cash?" She looked at him, and thought for a second.

"I guess I was."

"You like Johnny Cash?"

"Yeah."

"Since when?"

"Since college."

"College certainly did a number on you in more ways than one," he said, and she chuckled, and shoved him a little bit. "How did that happen?" She blushed slightly.

"It's a silly story…"

"I wanna hear it." She chuckled, and sat up.

"Well, if you must know, I started liking Johnny Cash when one of my boyfriends played it for me while he was performing." Hyde was kind of thrown.

"You dated a musician?"

"Yep. Pete. We had just started dating, and I was at one of his shows. And he said 'I'm gonna play a song for a girl I know. I'm sure you all know it, but it's for her.' And he started playing 'Walk the Line'."

"I bet you loved that." She laughed, and nodded.

"Hey, he was singing a song about how he'd never cheat on me," she said, laughing some more. "Of course I loved it."

"Did he keep to his word, or was it just a line?" Hyde asked, subconsciously tickling her shoulder.

"…. He kept it," Jackie said. "But it eventually didn't work out."

"Why not?"

"… It's not important." He smiled, and they kissed quickly.

"So… What time is your flight this afternoon?" he asked. He always knows how to ruin a moment, even when he's thirty one, she thought.

"It's at five fifteen," she said. "Barry and I are going to hit the road at two, just to be sure." He nodded, and she looked at the clock. It was nine on the dot. "So, we have five hours left. What should we do?" He shrugged, and tickled her stomach a little bit.

"We could go again, for old times sake," he said.

"Steven! We went at it three times last night!" she laughed, and he tackled her to the bed. "Wait wait wait."

"What what what?" he asked, kissing her neck.

"Steven, while screwing around is all fine and dandy, you should understand that I love you and… Can we make this work?" she asked. He sighed, and sat up again.

"I don't know," he said, and she sighed angrily and sat up too. "What?"

"Nothing," she said, and smiled at him, trying not to mess it all up like she tended to do when they were together. "Never mind. This was fun. It was good closure. We got the closure we needed." He nodded, but knew she was disappointed.

"Oh my God, I should probably get back to Bob's," she continued. "I have to pack, and say goodbye to everyone, and Barry and I have to hit the road." He nodded again, and she began throwing her clothes back on and hiding her hurt.

"I'll drive you," he said.

"I should hope so," she said, teasing a little bit. He smiled, and also got dressed.

-----------------------------------------------------

He parked the car in front of the Pinciottis, and they sat for a little bit.

"Are you going to stay, or say goodbye here?" she asked. He thought for a second, and didn't know what he was going to do. It would be easier for him to just let her go, a clean break, but he wasn't sure what he wanted to do.

"Well, I have to take care of some things at the store, but I will be back to say goodbye," he said. She nodded, and knew it was all she could get from him.

"Okay," she said. "Well, I guess I'll see you at 1:45, then."

"Yep," he said. She nodded, and wondered if she should kiss him. But she didn't want to spook him. To him it may have been just a one night thing. His closure. She told him that's what it was to her, but she didn't want it to be. So instead, she smiled, and got out of the car. "See ya." She waved, and walked up to the house. She turned, and his car was already down the street. Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? she thought, and sighed.

She walked into the house, and closed the door behind her. She was about to throw the door open and run down the street in a tizzy, but Donna and Eric walked out of the kitchen.

"YOU STAYED THE NIGHT!" Donna yelled, pointing. Jackie jumped in surprise, and exhaled.

"JEEZE, Donna," she said. "Give me a heart attack!"

"Did you two get back together?" Donna asked, hopeful. Jackie shrugged.

"I don't think so," she said.

"But you had sex?" Eric asked.

"Yes, we had sex, Foreman," Jackie said, and walked past them and up the steps. Donna and Eric looked at each other, and Donna groaned.

"I thought Hyde was past the whole 'I'm a dumbass' thing," she said, and followed her friend. Eric sighed, and went back into the kitchen. Barry was sitting next to Tommy, and Eric shook his head.

"Is Jackie home?" Barry asked.

"Yeah."

"How did she look?"

"Crestfallen."

"Ah, I remember days like that at NYU," Barry said. "Does Donna have it under control? There's only so much a gay man can do."

"I think so."

"... I really don't want to have to do this, but I may have to kill that Hyde fellow."

"I think my wife will be more than happy to help you."

Donna knocked on the door, and Jackie gave her the okay to come in. She opened it, and Jackie was packing.

"Okay, what happened?" Donna asked.

"I was an idiot," Jackie said, throwing clothes in her suitcase.

"How come?"

"Because I opened my heart to Steven Hyde again and I got it stepped on," Jackie said, and began changing out of her clothes from the night before. Donna closed the door, and sat on the bed. "I told him I still loved him."

"You told me that you didn't," Donna said.

"Oh come on, Donna, we both know I was lying!" Jackie said, and Donna smirked a little bit. "I told him that, we had sex, I asked how we were going to continue our relationship, and he totally blew me off!"

"I'm sure that he loves you too."

"Donna, before today he had only said that to me once," Jackie said, fuming. "And that was when I was mad at him for cheating on me!"

"I know, but-."

"And I am starting to wonder if he just wanted to not be in trouble with me because I was an easy lay!" Jackie snarled, and threw on jeans and a sweater.

"For Hyde, actions speak louder than words, you know," Donna said.

"But for God's sake, Donna, it's just nice to hear the words once in awhile!" Jackie exclaimed. Donna sighed, and stood and hugged her. Jackie accepted the hug, and was too angry to fall apart.

"Well, this is fine, I got closure, I got sex, I can go back to New York City and immerse myself in my work and get rich and then I can BUY myself a husband," Jackie continued. "Who needs love? I've survived without it all these years, I can survive more." Donna just hugged her, and Jackie sighed.

"And you always have Barry," was all Donna said, and Jackie laughed a little bit. "Oh honey. You want some help packing?"

"… Yes," Jackie said. "I would love some help." Donna nodded, and helped her pack her bag. "Donna, while I was in my first semester at NYU, I tried so hard to forget Steven. I would latch on to any guy who looked my way. I would sleep with them so quickly, because I thought that if I did, I would forget about Steven and they would love me. And of course, as it always is and as I should have remembered, that wasn't the case. In fact, I was on the road to being considered a slut in my dorm that first semester."

"I'm sorry," Donna said. Jackie shrugged.

"Barry actually sat me down one night and told me he was worried about me," she said. "And he was the only one of my friends there who said anything. We've been attached ever since. He's the one who told me that a guy would one day see the beauty in me. I finally got my life together, I had a few serious boyfriends, but they didn't work out. I was in love with one of them, Pete. But I couldn't get past how much he was like Steven. We just became friends, and he actually married our friend Mandy. I still talk to them, but that's not really my point." She was rambling now, and Donna knew she needed to vent.

"I promised myself I wouldn't let that happen again, and it did last night," Jackie said. "And I feel like that scared freshman who associated screwing with loving." Donna took her hand, and Jackie looked at her closest female friend. "But this time, instead of it being some dumb college boy I just met, I love him. That's the ONLY difference. And it makes it that much worse." Donna nodded, and helped her pack.

------------------------------------------------

At 1:45, Jackie and Barry were all packed, and most everyone had shown up to say goodbye to their favorite ex-cheerleader. Everyone but Hyde.

Kitty gave her a snow globe that said 'Wisconsin' in it.

"I hope that it will help you remember us," Kitty said.

"Kitty, I'm going to be back more often now," Jackie said. "I'll be back before you know it."

"I know, I know," Kitty said, wiping her eyes. Kelso hugged Jackie, and lifted her up again. She groaned, but smiled.

"You should come in to Chicago and see me and the family too," he said.

"I will, Michael, we'll figure something out," Jackie said. "I want to see my god daughter as soon as possible." Kelso set her down, and Fez was next in line.

"I'm going to miss you," he said. She nodded, and hugged him. "We had some fun times."

"Yes we did, Fez," Jackie said. "I hope the salon does well in the next year too." She turned to Donna and Eric. Eric was holding Tommy, who was smiling at her.

"Goodbye, Tommy Foreman," Jackie said, and Tommy smiled at her.

"Bye, pretty lady," he answered. Jackie grinned, and kissed his forehead. Eric pat her on the back, and kissed her head.

"You need to come see us too, Satan," he said. She laughed, and nodded.

"You and Donna should come see me sometime," she retorted. She turned to Donna, and Donna smiled at her. They threw their arms around each other, and hugged very tightly.

"You're still my best girl friend," Donna said. Jackie nodded, and felt the tears coming on.

"You're mind too," she answered. "Not including Barry."

"Har har," Barry said, loading up the bags in the trunk. Kitty and Red missed the joke, and Donna and Jackie pulled away. She looked around, and knew that Steven wasn't coming. She nodded, in acceptance, and turned to Barry.

"Shall we hit the road?" she asked. He nodded, and said his goodbyes as Jackie looked around, hoping that Steven's car would turn around the corner before they started up theirs and drove off. But her hopes were in vain. Steven Hyde, once again, had let her down.

They drove down the street, and Jackie stared out the window, numb.

"I'm sure he had a good reason," Barry said. She snorted.

"He always had a good reason," she said, meekly.

-----------------------------------------------

Forty minutes after two, Donna answered a knock at the door. She opened it, and Hyde was standing there, hands in his pockets.

"A little late," Donna said, flatly. He sighed, and walked in the room. "What happened, Hyde?"

"I got caught up at the store," he said, and sat on the couch. She sighed in exasperation, and chuckled a little bit.

"Must have been one HELL of a dilemma," she said. "Hyde, you let her down."

"Don't be so melodramatic."

"I'm not being melodramatic," Donna said, harshly. "I am telling you the truth. That woman loves you more than anyone ever has loved you, and you just let her walk away. Without saying goodbye, without telling her how you felt about her, without giving her the respect she deserves!"

"She knows how I feel about her!" Hyde snapped.

"Are you so sure about that?" Donna demanded. "How could she possibly know? Did you ever tell her how you feel? How do you feel?"

"Donna…"

"Hyde, how do you feel, right now, about Jackie Burkhardt?" Donna asked. "Do you care about her? Was she just the lay that you needed again?"

"No! How could you say that about-!"

"How do you feel!"

"Donna-!"

"Face your feelings for once! How do you feel?"

"I love her!" he yelled back. She put her hands on her hips, and raised her eyebrows at him, so as to say 'I told you so'. He growled, and sat down on the couch again, resting his forehead in his hands.

"Then where were you today?" she asked, calmer this time.

"Donna, she lives so far away," he said. "I'm here, she's in New York. That would never work."

"… So who says you have to stay here?" she asked.

"Donna, I have a business here," he said. "I have the Foremans, and Fez, and I have a good life here..."

"Hyde…" He knew that he was fooling himself. He pulled his hands away from his forehead, and looked at his oldest friend. She put a hand on his back, and he leaned his head on her shoulder.

"I really messed up again," he said, and Donna sighed. He groaned, and she hugged him. "Why do I always mess things up with her? Why do I continually hurt the person I love the most?" Donna shrugged, and pet his hair.

"Sometimes in life, the best way to tell someone how you feel is by saying it," Donna said. Hyde nodded.

"I never told her."

"I know."

"She told me, but I never told her."

"You told her once, I hear."

"… That was a long time ago." She nodded, and he actually got a little misty eyed.

---------------------------------------------

On the plane, Jackie was staring at the ground below, and Barry rubbed her hand.

"Well loves, when we get home I am going to go out, get us some movies and ice cream, and we're going to have a night to ourselves," he said.

"Ooh, what movies?" she asked, though it was obvious she was sad.

"Anything that doesn't depress you or make me want to hurt guys," Barry said. "We have enough of those emotions at the moment." She smiled at him, and laid her head on his shoulder. He put that arm around her, and she fell asleep, trying to suss out what she thought of that trip back home.


	12. Chapter 11: Merrier Christmas

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

On Christmas Eve, Jackie made good on her word. She stayed in, turned on 'It's A Wonderful Life', and looked over designs while drinking hot cocoa. She had talked to Donna a few times since the funeral and her trip back to Point Place. Donna had decided to rent out her Dad's house to Fez, who was getting sick of the apartment. With the money the salon made, he could afford the rent. Much to Red's dismay, who thought that he would never be rid of the weird foreign kid. Jackie and Donna had talked about Donna and Eric and Tommy coming out to New York City for Spring Break, and they were going to plan that.

She had some other things to plan and think about as well. For one thing, she had missed her period, which scared the heck out of her. She had been on the pill when she was in Point Place, but sometimes, in the rarest of rare times, that would fall through. And at this point she was pretty sure that fall through it had. She had called Barry three days after her missed period, and demanded that he come over. He did, and when he asked what was wrong, she answered simply.

'I think I might be pregnant.'

'… You think WHAT!'

'You heard me!'

'Well you know that I'M not the father!'

'Well of course not, Steven is the father!'

'Why are you telling me this! I hate women's biology, and anatomy, and-!'

'I told you because you're my best friend!' she exclaimed, and leapt into his embrace because of her shaking. He had stayed the night, holding her, and wondered what on earth she was going to do.

She sighed as she thought about that evening. Now she was drinking her cocoa and trying not to think about it. Barry had left for Schenectady that morning, and said he'd call when he got in. She was not really enjoying the movie as she looked at the plans for the Hamptons home she was going to decorate. She was still aching from seeing Steven, and being rejected again. He hadn't even said goodbye. Even if he had said goodbye it would have been better than this. Just being a one night stand. And if she was indeed pregnant, which she just knew that she was, what then? Should she tell him? Should she put it up for adoption? Should she get an abortion? Or should she keep it and raise it? Would Steven even care? She scribbled on one of the pieces of paper, and was unable to dwell on it. It would drive her insane if she did anymore.

Her phone rang. She grabbed it, and answered.

"Hello?"

"I'm here and I'm already ready to come back," he said.

"Oh dear. What happened?"

"My Mom is trying to set me up," Barry said. Jackie laughed. "See, this is why you should have come!"

"Sorry, Barry, now you may have to come out," Jackie said. "Though you'll thank me in the end."

"I did come out to them! Last week!"

"You didn't TELL ME!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I was going to after I saw them because I figured that they would need it face to face. And lo and behold, I get here and there is a man named Carl that I just HAD to meet." Jackie burst out laughing, and Barry groaned. "You wouldn't think it were funny if you were in my shoes."

"We'll never know, will we?"

"So what are you up to?"

"Looking at designs and drinking cocoa."

"And 'It's A Wonderful Life'?"

"As promised. Though I don't feel that way right now."

"I know, honey. Don't worry, I'll be back for New Years and we'll go guy hopping."

"Ooh, sounds great."

"You aren't being sincere, but you know it does," Barry said.

"Guys aren't really into the single mom thing, Barry," she said, scribbling more. She heard him sigh.

"So it's official?"

"As official it can be without being COMPLETELY official," she said.

"Well, we will deal with it once I get back from my parents," he said. "Make an appointment for the day I get back, and I'll go with you."

"Really?"

"Yes. Though you'll owe me big time."

"Thank you, Barry. For all of this."

"You're welcome. But for now, I have to go. Merry Christmas, Loves."

"Merry Christmas, Barry," she said, and hung up.

She put on pajama pants and a sweater, and looked out the window into the chilly night. I should really call Mom and Dad, she thought, but didn't act on it. I'll call them tomorrow. She went back to her designs, and went to her photos. The photos she took while she was in Point Place. Photos of everyone and everything. She was glad she brought her camera, even if the trip reinforced her notion that she would never be as happy as she was when she was with all of them that fateful weekend.

There was a knocking on her door. She groaned, and grabbed a blanket. One, who got inside without her ringing them in, and two, who wanted to bother her on Christmas fricking Eve? She quickly brushed a hand through her hair, and walked to the door. She opened it, and almost gasped. Because Steven Hyde was there, with a wrapped present.

"Holy hell," she said.

"And a Merry Christmas to you too," he said. "Can I come in?"

"Uhhh… Yes, of course you can," she said, motioning for him to enter. "Wow, I did not expect this."

"Who could expect you to?" he asked.

"What are you doing in New York?" she asked, and they sat on the couch.

"Well, by pure chance, my Dad said it would be a good idea to expand the business East Coast, and to go to New York."

"That is quite the coincidence."

"… Okay, so it was all my idea," Hyde said, and she smiled a little. "But, I'm in town because I'm seeking out places that I could buy and run a music store in."

"Wow," she said. "Congratulations."

"Yeah, it's pretty good," he said.

"How did you get my address?"

"Donna gave it to me."

"You're lucky I answered, I was suspicious when I didn't get an intercom buzz," she said. He chuckled, and she looked at the floor. "So, why did you want to stop by?"

"Well, I didn't say goodbye to you when you left Point Place," he said. "After I had given you such grief for not saying goodbye to me when you went to college, I didn't want to seem like a hypocrite."

"Oh," she said. "Well, so you flew to Manhattan?"

"Okay okay okay," he said, standing up. "Jackie, I'm really sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't say goodbye, that I just brushed you off, I'm sorry that I acted like my old jerky self when you were in town. I came here because… Well, I have a Christmas gift, for one thing." He handed her the small gift.

"I… don't have anything for you," she said.

"That's okay. Open it." She opened it, warily, and then smiled. It was a scarf. It was very stylish, but she felt the material. It was soft, and most likely very warm.

"Wow," she said. "Thank you, Steven."

"You're welcome," he said. "And for another thing, I had a long talk with Donna after you left. And she kind of made me finally understand and open my eyes about something that I just didn't know, or didn't want to know."

"What was that?" she asked, meekly. He sat on the couch again.

"Words are sometimes the best way to get a point across," he said. "Jackie, I'm still in love with you. I have been in love with you all these years, I never forgot about you. I just want to have you a part of my life because you make me a better person. I… Yeah, you're the one for me, baby. You're the person who knows me best, and I want you in my life, my entire life." She smiled more and more as he talked. Tears slowly fell down her face, and he smiled at her.

"Really?" she asked. He nodded. "You love me?"

"Of course I do, Jackie," he said. "I never said it enough when we were kids. But I am saying it now. I want to be with you. For all my life. So, shall we do what we should have done years ago, and get married?" She grinned, and threw her arms around him.

"Yes, Steven," she said. "Just hearing it has made me so happy." He nodded, and they kissed. She smiled, and he smiled slyly at her.

"And your timing couldn't be better," she continued.

"What do you mean?"

"We'll talk later about it."

"Merry Christmas, baby," he said.

"The merriest I've had in awhile," she answered. "Hang on, I have to call Barry!" He groaned.

"Why?" he asked. "Can't we just revel in this for a little while?"

"Steven honey, to be married to me is to be somewhat married to Barry," she explained. He chuckled, shaking is head. She dialed the phone, and waited.

"Grant Residence, Barry the second son speaking."

"Barry!"

"Jackie?"

"I'm getting married!"

"….. Okay, how long have I been at my parents? It FEELS like an eternity, but I didn't think-."

"Steven's here! He proposed and he's moving here and we're getting married!"

"Oh good, loves! Then I can cancel the hit I put on him."

"Don't be a bitch, Barry."

"Why are you talking to me if you just got engaged? Go be with your fiancé. But warn him that if he hurts you again, I WILL kill him. A slow and painful death…. Oh, and tell him congrats and Merry Christmas."

"I will," she said. She hung up, and Hyde wrapped his arms around her stomach.

"So what did you mean by the timing being good?" he asked, kissing her neck. She arched an eyebrow, and smiled to herself.

A/N: I know it got fluffy at the end there. Oh well, I think we deserve it. Does it need an epilogue, cuz I'm considering it...


	13. Epilogue

A/N: Okay, this is a new epilogue. I've been trying to think of a good one, and after a couple rewrites, I think I finally got it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well, I do own Barry.

Kitty Foreman's Christmas Party in 1991 was an extravagant affair. She hung the mistletoe, cooked a turkey with all the trimmings, and decorated the house for the guests that were coming. Red would tell her that she was being silly, because Christmas was three days after the visit, but she didn't care. She knew that this was going to be an important party, and she was determined to make it better than the last large one she had put on twelve years prior.

The first people to arrive were Eric and Donna and their three kids. Donna and Eric had the twins in August, William and Natalie. Kitty had already made them little stockings, and couldn't wait for the little girl to be of age so she could teach her everything she knew. Though it was too bad that Bob couldn't meet his other two grandchildren, Kitty liked to think that he was watching over them.

'Let me see my grandbabies!' Kitty exclaimed, picking up Natalie above her head. 'Oh, they're bigger since Thanksgiving!'

'Yeah, Mom, they tend to grow,' Eric said. Red tossed the three year old a ball, and Tommy tossed it back. 'Hey Red, he's gonna be a little slugger, huh?'

'Just like his Mom,' Red stated, and Donna laughed as Eric sort of nodded, defeated.

The doorbell rang, and Kitty handed Natalie back to Donna.

'It's the others!' she exclaimed, beaming. She opened the door, and there were Jackie and Steven Hyde, with Barry Grant in tow. 'Merry Christmas everyone!'

'Merry Christmas, Kitty!' Jackie said, and Hyde carried in their little baby girl. Kitty hugged her, and then just HAD to see the little one.

'Is this Cordelia?' she asked, and Hyde handed her to his surrogate mother.

'No Kitty, it's some kid they snatched at the airport,' Red said. She ignored him.

'Oh my goodness she's beautiful!' she exclaimed.

'She's also really loud,' Barry said. 'Just like her Mommy!' Jackie shot him a look, and lightly punched him on the shoulder.

'Remind me why you aren't in Schenectady, please," she asked him.

'I fly out in two days, loves, you're all stuck with me until then.'

'But there are so many babies, I thought you were terrified of them,' Donna teased, handing him Natalie. Barry groaned.

'Not of the babies themselves, of the responsibility they represent.'

'He's our official babysitter, he's getting used to it,' Hyde said.

Cordelia was born in September, a few weeks after the twins. Jackie and Hyde had married the previous March, and after a couple of months of frantic planning they had managed to pull it off in Point Place, before Jackie's pregnancy was completely obvious. Everyone crowded around the little baby, since they had yet to see her. It was true. She was beautiful.

'So Kitty,' Hyde said. 'Did you make eggnog this year?'

'I did!' she exclaimed. 'But the difference this year is that I won't have to nag you in a drunken stupor.' Jackie laughed, and Kitty handed her Cordelia. As everyone sat around the fire, talking about things they had done since their last time seeing each other, Jackie smiled over at Hyde. He felt her looking at him, and he smiled back at her. She looked at all her friends and loved ones. Twelve years before was that Christmas Party that started it all. If she had been told then that she would have all this in her life, she wouldn't have believed it. In 1979 her Christmas was a disaster. But now, in 1991, it was everything she could and dreamed of. She rocked Cordelia, laughed with her friends and family, and smiled at the tree. I got everything I ever wanted, she thought. Everything. And I never thought I would get that.

'Hey doll?' Hyde asked. She was brought from her pondering. 'What are you thinking about?' She smiled, and handed him their daughter.

'About everything,' she stated. He smiled back, and kissed her cheek, and then kissed Cordelia.

Not only had Jackie Burkhart exceeded their expectations.

She had exceeded her own as well.

THE END

A/N: Okay, there you have it, folks. The end. I'm kind of sad that it's done, but I will probably get inspired and write a new story in the very near future. School starts up again tomorrow, so we'll see how much time I have. Once again, thanks for all the reviews and feedback, I really appreciate it! And thank you for making me feel very welcome!


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